


A Blast From The Past

by CrazyPenguinWriter2001



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Andreil-fluff, Angst, Assassins, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Mysteries, OC's - Freeform, Protection, Trust, Violence, chosing your own path, mafia, ofcourse Neil has some stuff from the past that needs fixing, timeline is wonky af
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2020-06-02 20:14:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 53,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19448737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyPenguinWriter2001/pseuds/CrazyPenguinWriter2001
Summary: It's the start of Neil's second year when he encounters someone from his past with some bad news: there are people after him who want him dead. Just when Neil thought he was done with keeping secrets, he might have to do so again, to protect his newfound family and stay alive. Luckily for him, he will not be the only keeper of these secrets this year, and he might have more allies than he knew of.





	1. Prologue

Neil was doing his morning jog when a familiar voice spoke to him.

“Hey Nat.” 

He stopped running and looked at the girl standing behind him. There had only been one person who had called him ‘Nat’, and unfortunately, that person was standing right behind him.

She laughed. “You’re not surprised are you? That’d be stupid.”

Neil scowled. “And why would that be? It’s not like I still expect people to be after me.”

“You should,” she simply said. “You know the yakuza and your father’s men are not the only ones with a price on your head.”

Neil knew she knew about the deal he’d struck with the Moriyama’s, so it was beyond his understanding why she was standing here so casually, without a care in the world and a smile on her face. 

“Why are you here?”

Her smile altered into a grim line. “To warn you, Nat.”

“It’s Neil now.”

“I will not call you Neil yet. Neil has nothing to do with this. Nathaniel does.”

Fair enough. Neil crossed his arms. “Warn me about what?”

“Father is coming to get you. And he wants your head.”

“I’m an asset of the Moriyama’s now. Is your father really going to risk a mob war to get my head?”

“Nat, you know how crazy he is.” Her smile returned. “And you also know it’s the Moriyama’s who’ll have to bend their knee for Father, not the other way around. Ichirou will not even try to intervene.”

Neil knew this, and he hated it. He had to ask though, just to be sure.

“That does not explain why you’re here. You could have send me some kind of message and not even be bothered to come in person.” Neil raised an eyebrow.

She merely smiled. “I missed you.”

Yeah sure. Neil did not believe it.

“Oh, you wanted the truth?” The smile she wore was devilish. “Then maybe you should try to be a little less stupid Nat. A message would definitely have set off some alarms, and maybe you wouldn’t even receive it. But me coming in person, claiming I wanted to make sure the job was done well? Well, that would raise less suspicion.”

She turned around and walked away, waving her hand at him. “See ya Nat! Enjoy the last days of your vacay here with your boyfriend.”

Neil wanted to say Andrew and he did not like to call each other ‘boyfriend’ - one reason being it felt like so much more than could be put in some word - but she had vanished already.

He finished his run and returned to the cousins’ house, where Andrew was already waiting for him by the counter of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand.

Andrew must have noticed Neil’s grim expression, for he stared Neil down while he walked over.

“I saw someone I did not expect to see.” Neil grabbed the coffee and took a sip. “Someone I forgot, or maybe just tried to forget.”

“Someone from your life on the run?” Andrew’s hazel eyes were stoic as always, but he did sound a little concerned.

“Kind of.” Neil sighed. “Someone from my life on the run and my mother trying to find a safe place for me to stay and finish school. I was… Fifteen? No, I think fourteen back then.”

Andrew regarded him for a few more seconds. “Trouble?”

Neil sighed. “Apparently. Someone wants me dead.”

“Who doesn’t?”

“That someone is her father.”

Andrew remained silent for a while. “Her?”

“Yes.” Neil took another sip and looked Andrew in the eye. “She came to warn me about it.”

“What’s her name?”

“Victoria Audrey Mattner.” Neil stared at the counter. “Her name is Victoria Audrey Mattner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooooooo,  
> I'm really excited for this one. There is lots of fun ahead, and I mean, of course Neil has some unresolved stuff from the past that will come to haunt him, since his real identity came forward after Baltimore.  
> Because English is not my first language, there might be some mistakes in this fic. If so: please tell me, so I can correct it.  
> Thank you for reading this prologue!  
> Lots Of Love


	2. Chapter 2

Andrew drove them to campus, with their luggage in the back of the Maserati. He looked at Neil from time to time, to ensure himself the boy was still sitting next to him, without any holes in him and breathing. 

Ever since Neil got back from that day he had encountered that Victoria Audrey Mattner, he had been jumpy and glanced over his shoulder more often, as if he was getting paranoid. Maybe they both were, for Andrew had caught himself doing the same.

The target on Neil’s back should have been familiar, but ever since Neil had made that deal with Ichirou, his father died and Riko had been killed by his own brother, they had relaxed a little. But now, with this new threat and new players, it was last year all over again, but this time without the secrets. Or at least, without secrets between Neil and Andrew.

Andrew did not know whether Neil wanted to tell the others or not. It might be for the best if they kept it a secret, but they both knew that secret was not meant to be kept from them. Besides, even if they’d try to keep it a secret, it was bound to be found out eventually.

But, it was up to Neil to tell it. All Andrew could do was try to keep him alive.

They reached Fox Tower. Andrew parked the Maserati and stayed put. Neil did the same.

“New year, new team,” Neil said softly, smiling a little. “I am curious who will be new on the team.”

“I’m not.” Andrew didn’t even lie about it. He couldn’t care less about the new freshmen.

Neil snorted and got out. Andrew followed and grabbed their luggage.

\-----

They were greeted by Dan and Renee, who were pushing Matt’s couch into his and Nicky’s and Aaron’s room. 

“Neil! Andrew!” Dan gave Neil a hug, but didn’t bother to give Andrew one. “I’m happy to see you. How was your vacation?”

‘It was alright,” Neil said. “How were your vacations?”

Renee smiled. “Mine too. I went to the beach with Allison and Stephanie, which was nice.”

“I was at Matt’s for the first few weeks, and after that I mostly just worked.” Dan grinned. “And you? Did you two do anything besides stay in Nicky’s house in Colombia?”

Neither Neil nor Andrew answered, since Matt was jogging their way to grab Neil and hug him.

“Goodmorning!” Matt grinned. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing fine.” Neil patted Matt’s arm, silently requesting to let him go. 

“Good! Do you need any help setting up your room? It’ll be awhile before coach orders us to the stadium, I might as well help where I can.”

“No thanks,” Neil said. “Do you know when Kevin might be arriving? Or Nicky, Allison and Aaron?”

“Kevin is going with coach, so I guess he’s coming with him. I haven’t heard from Nicky and Aaron, but Allison is driving to the Fox Tower right now, so she’ll be here any minute.”

“Okay.” Neil saw Andrew had started walking to their room with their luggage, so he said he’d catch up with the others soon and jogged after him.

\-----

They were sitting in the lounge when Kevin arrived. 

“We have a little surprise,” he announced.

“We?” Allison asked. “Are you and Thea expecting?”

Kevin shot her a dirty look. “No! We as in me and Wymack.”

“Bummer.”

Neil grinned and shook his head. Some things never changed.

“We have seven freshmen instead of six. Wymack and I added one at the last possible second. She has recently moved here and contacted Wymack, asking if there was still a spot on his team for one more.”

That was definitely a surprise. Neil wondered what had caught Wymack and Kevin’s eye. And how they had managed the ERC to let her on the line-up, even though they had already given one.

“Well, I guess everyone made it.” Wymack entered the room, followed by seven other people. “Let’s introduce ourselves.”

Neil’s heart and ears stopped when he saw a familiar face enter the room. He couldn’t hear a word Wymack or anyone was saying. 

Victoria smiled at him sweetly, like nothing was wrong, but her eyes had a mischievous look to them. 

Nicky nudged him. “Neil?”

“Yeah?” He got snapped back to reality. 

Victoria snorted. “Cat caught your tongue?”

He looked at her sourly. “Very funny. What were we talking about?”

Andrew observed him, Neil could feel his hazel eyes on him, but he ignored him. He’d talk to him later.

“Introduce yourself.” Nicky grinned. “Even though our faces are on TV from time to time, it’s polite to introduce yourself.”

“Neil Josten, striker,” Neil said.

Victoria caught his eye and tilted her head sideways. “Nice to meet you, Neil. It’ll take some time, but I’ll come up with a nice nickname for you.”

Every Fox turned to her, faces in horror. Andrew slid out his knife and started playing with it, but as Neil suspected, Victoria was not impressed by any of it.

Wymack cleared his throat. “Well, can you introduce yourselves too?”

“Of course.” Victoria stepped forward and smiled sweetly. “I’ll be striker, since that’s what I liked most when I started playing. I’m seventeen years old, come from Germany and moved here with my family to play Exy and because my father has some business to take care of. Favorite color is purple, I do already have a boyfriend so back off, favorite food is chocolate and my favorite animal is a butterfly.”

She locked eyes with Neil. “My name is Victoria Audrey Mattner, and I’m glad to be joining your team.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY? WHAT?  
> Yes. I might as well post them both to make more of a story. And I loved the ending of this chapter, so I had to share it immediately. So there you go.


	3. Chapter 3

Andrew jumped up, but before he could charge Victoria, a knife went past him and pierced the wall behind him. Not much later, blood welled up from the cut on Andrew’s ear, where the knife had probably scraped his body.

Wide-eyed and terrified, everyone looked at the small blonde, who had another knife ready and played with it, smiling deviously.

“I should probably mention I’m an expert with knives and do not appreciate being attacked. Bad childhood memories.” Victoria winked at Neil. “But I’m not the only one with bad memories, am I?”

Neil huffed, but did not comment. He turned to Andrew, who was still staring at Victoria, silently pleading he’ll sit down and not engage any further. Victoria was not kidding. That knife was a warning.

“Goddamnit,” Wymack sighed. “It always starts like this, doesn’t it?”

No one reacted to that, apart from Victoria, who started giggling. 

“Really? Lol.”

Neil watched Andrew sit down and observe her. Neil did not know what Andrew was looking for, but the petite blonde had certainly caught his interest. 

Victoria pulled her hair in a ponytail while one of the other freshmen introduced himself, but she did not look like she cared about Andrew’s deadly stare. Then again, Neil did not expect her to.

Being the daughter of a mob boss had certain perks to it.

\-----

After that disaster, the ‘old’ Foxes were gathered in girls’ room, to catch up and talk about a certain recent addition to their team.

“Who the hell is that Victoria?” Matt asked Kevin. “I can see why she qualifies as a Fox, but seriously, what disaster did you bring in this time?”

“A streetfighter,” Kevin muttered. “Her parents told Wymack she used to participate in street fights, without her parents’ consent or knowledge. When they found out, they moved here and told her to behave.”

“A streetfighter,” Renee mused. “Makes sense, I guess.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she used to do drugs of some kind,” Dan said. “Or at one point even joined a gang.”

Neil did not comment. He knew all of that already. Yes, Victoria had indeed participated in some streetfights. Yes, she had already used drugs, even though it was not entirely voluntarily. She had not joined a gang though, as far as he knew. But then again, being born into the mafia was probably like joining a gang. Just not voluntarily, again.

Someone knocked on their door. Nicky opened it.

“Hya! Nicky, wasn’t it?” Neil turned around to see the devil they were talking about standing there, with a smile on her face. 

“Yes. Hi Victoria.” Nicky looked confused. “Do you need anything?”

“Not really. Hi other Foxes.” She waved at the rest of the team.

Only Renee waved back. Andrew moved to stand beside Neil, which did not go unnoticed.

Victoria grinned. “Well, I’m gonna investigate this place some more. See ya!”

She saluted and walked away, ponytail swinging. Nicky closed the door and raised an eyebrow.

“Well, that was weird,” Allison said.

“I’m going after her,” Neil said, and he walked towards the hallway.

“No you’re not,” Andrew told him, but he didn’t listen.

Before anyone could stop him, he bolted through the door and ran after Victoria, who was already waiting for him in the hallway, grinning.

“You’re so predictable,” she said, before she shove him into her room.

\-----

Andrew did not have enough time to grab the idiot before he bolted out of the room. He started to sprint after Neil, but before he had even reached the hallway, he heard Victoria speak.

“You’re so predictable.”

Andrew reached the hallway, but they were both gone. 

There were not many placed they could hide, one of which was Victoria’s own room.

He started walking towards it, but before he got to the door, Victoria opened it and smiled at Andrew.

“I’ll be loaning your boyfriend for a minute or so. If he’s not back in twenty minutes, you can march in, but before that, please try to keep out. Neil would not like to see me carve you up in front of his eyes.”

Andrew was not impressed by her threat. “Let me in too. He’ll tell me anyways.”

Victoria eyed him curiously. “Neil? Any complaints?”

“What?” Neil asked, stupid as ever.

“Well, I’m gonna take that as a no, so come in Minyard! Please don’t make a mess. It was hard enough to get a room for myself.”

She got a room for herself? Andrew immediately thought of the money her father had to give whoever was in charge of appointing who went to what room. It had to be a lot.

He stepped inside and immediately went to check on Neil, who was sitting on the sofa, flabbergasted by how easily Victoria had let him in.

“Are you still his personal bodyguard Minyard?” Victoria asked as soon as she had closed the door.

“No.”

“Hm. Bummer. Neil could use one.”

“I can take care of myself,” Neil snapped.

“Like you did when you were kidnapped in Baltimore,” Victoria said dryly. “Of course you can.”

“I made a deal with Ichirou on my own.”

“Ichirou probably had no intention to kill you, just to listen to what you had to say and see what he could do with that information. If it were useless, he’d kill you. If it were not, he’d let you live.” Victoria shrugged, crossed the room and sat on the chair across the sofa, to look at them both. “That’s how I would do it anyway.”

Neil did not comment, unless you count crossing your arms.

“What do you want?” Andrew asked.

Victoria looked him in the eye, grey eyes filled with determination. “I want to tell Neil some more about his new… ‘threat’.”

This caught their attention. They had been warned in advance of course, but apparently there was more to tell. Something Victoria needed those twenty minutes for to explain.

“Remember the morning I ran into you?” she asked Neil.

Of course Neil did. He frowned though, taken back by her weird and stupid question.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. What did you do afterwards?”

Another stupid question, but Andrew felt like she was going somewhere. She might look like a pretty blonde, but she most certainly had enough brains to think ahead and use the information she had. Luring Neil out of the room by simply passing by, taking Andrew in too after he went after that idiot. Knowing Andrew was going to use his knife on her the moment he heard her name and realized she was a threat to Neil and the rest of the family. It required skill to grab and throw your knives in less than a second, but also preparation, because you always needed a second to react if you were surprised.

“I went home,” Neil said, still in the dark about Victoria’s intentions.

He had this stupid little frown which made his forehead wrinkle and made Andrew curse Neil’s ability to turn Andrew’s insides into jelly.

“Indeed.” Victoria smiled. “You went home instead of continuing your usual route. You had run enough to make you feel like you already did your entire walk and return home, but you did not reach the quiet spot you would have been sniped by one of my father’s men.”

The silence was deafening. Andrew felt his anger flow through his veins, faster than it had done before. Neil could have died that day? There were people who would’ve made sure of that? 

Victoria’s smile faded and her eyes were cold. “If I had not made that conversation with you, you would not have felt the need to go home, to go to Andrew, and you would have been shot in the head twice and once in the chest, to make sure you were dead.”

Normal people would have felt chills run through their veins when they heard Victoria’s voice and words, but Andrew and Neil were not normal. They had both been through enough to stay calm and gaze back into those cold, grey eyes.

“So you’re saying you saved my life,” Neil said. 

Victoria huffed. “I did not do anything. I only made a dice roll and moved a chess piece to the right direction.”

“Nice metaphor,” Andrew told her. “Is this a game to you?”

“It most certainly is not, but I liked saying it. What I mean is that by telling you my father was after you, I made sure you were paranoid enough to stay put and trust no-one but yourselves, making sure you reached this point in time. I do have to tell you this is a game to my father, a game he is not aware of he is playing against me instead of you, Neil.” Victoria had crossed her arms behind her back. “You’re my piece, and I moved you out of harm's way.”

“I am no-one’s chess piece.” Neil’s eyes were on fire, and Andrew did not like how he liked it. “I am not some inanimate object you can use whenever and however you want.”

“I’m afraid you have no choice,” Victoria said coldly. “If you want to stay alive, you have to do as I say.”

Andrew did not agree. “I can protect him.”

“No offense Andrew, but you think too highly of yourself.” Victoria turned her icy gaze to him. “The mafia is not something to sneeze at, and one man cannot do much without knowledge or proper training, years and years of proper training.”

Andrew huffed, but he knew she was right. Did not mean he had to like it.

He knew when it was only Riko and the Moriyama’s, it had been easier to protect his family. If Neil was right about the Mattner’s, Andrew had no way to do the same. The Mattner’s were a force to be reckoned with. Nothing to sneeze at indeed.

“Then what do you propose?” he asked the petite blonde.

Victoria smiled her devilish smile, the same one she had when she had entered the room earlier that day. “Easy. We’re going to eliminate Father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuuuunnnn.


	4. Chapter 4

Victoria knew Father would most definitely kill her for sabotaging him, but he could not do anything in public yet. So just like Nathaniel, the only moments she was vulnerable were when there was no-one around. For example: Nathaniel during his morning run. She’d have to do something about that. Luckily, that was all part of the plan.

But first, she had to smile pretty deviously and make sure the two men in front of her knew she was not kidding.

“Easy,” Nathaniel (maybe she had to learn herself to say Neil now, since that is his official name now) mimicked her. “We just have to kill a powerful mob boss.”

Even Andrew was looking at her like: 'what the fuck', which had to be the most expressive Victoria had ever seen him. That boy’s middle name had to be ‘apathetic’. 

“Are you seriously expecting us to believe you have a plan to kill your father?” Neil asked. 

He knew Father. He had the right to be skeptical. 

“I did not make this plan on my own,” she told him. “But yes, there is a plan in motion. That plan involves a lot of players, a lot of pieces, but the most important ones are you, me, father and my brother. Our actions will make or break this plan.”

It took her and her brother a lot of time to figure it out too. To make back-up plans, calculate the risks, speculate what might happen and prepare for every single one of the options. If their mother had still been alive, she’d be proud to call herself the founder of this plan, but since their plan only started arising after she had died and not before, she could only watch from the Heavens. 

Victoria had done most of the planning, with her brother being the one to actually set it into motion. And the one to pull the string behind the scenes. They both knew their strengths and thus positions, which made it a lot easier to roll with it. And if all went well, they’d both get what they wanted in the end.

“Care to explain this plan of yours?” Andrew raised an eyebrow.

Victoria merely smiled. “Nah. All I have to say to you is: avoid having Na-Neil on his own, always make sure he has company. Also: Father will not target the Foxes or anybody else. He lives with some kind of moral code to target your enemy specifically, not everyone around said enemy too. He might change that later on, but I don’t think he will do it for another…three to five attempts.” That would also be when he would stop caring whether or not Neil was alone.

Andrew nodded. Victoria wondered whether he’d take her word for it or not. It might change the board a little.

Before she could add though, someone knocked on her door.

She went to open it, knowing their conversation had ended now. It did not matter though. Everything she had wanted to say, she said, and if they had questions, they knew where to find her.

On the other side were some of the ‘old’ Foxes. Renee Walker, with her colorful hair and brown eyes. Kevin Day, with his tattoo and piercing green eyes. Nicky Hemmick, with his smiles and dark eyes. Allison Reynolds, with her makeup and smokey grey eyes.

Victoria found it quite funny when she had actually first met Allison, for they both had blonde hair and grey eyes, but Victoria’s hair was darker blonde, she had wavy hair instead of straight and her eyes were more dark too. She had looked it up once, when she was young. She’d come to the conclusion she had sugar grey eyes. Another difference between her and the other blonde was that Allison was taller than Victoria was. 

Victoria had also been interested in Renee, for entirely different reasons. Allison was interesting because of her resemblance to Victoria, but Renee was interesting because of her past. From gang member to savior, a girl who claimed to be better because of God and her new foster family. Victoria was curious to know how much of her past she had actually left behind. If it were even possible to leave it behind.

And of course Kevin Day. The star of last year’s show. The Raven who became a Fox and helped his new team beat his former, overthrowing Riko’s reign. His former connections to the Moriyama’s and the ‘contract’ he had nowadays, made him a person of interest too, even though her brother thought highly of his value. Victoria knew his connections and relationship with Neil and Andrew made him a player, but she was still convinced he would contribute little to their plan and its outcome.

One thing that might be troublesome, was his nightly practice with Neil and Andrew. It formed another perfect chance to eliminate Neil. Maybe Victoria had to see to it she’d be there too, just to be sure.

“Hello,” Renee greeted her with a smile. “We just wanted to check on you.”

“Are you having some kind of tea party?” Nicky asked, looking at Neil - who was sitting on the couch - and Andrew - who stood by his boyfriend’s side. 

“We’re just chatting to get to know each other better,” Victoria told him. “Wanna join? I might have some sweets left from the journey.”

“No thank you,” Allison said. “We were just checking.”

Victoria knew why. They did not trust her. Her violent reaction to Andrew, when he wanted to attack her, had made sure of that.

She smiled again. “Fine by me. I think Neil and Andrew wanted to go anyway, since I have probably bored them to death by talking about my family.”

Andrew looked like he might have snorted if he hadn’t been this indifferent in all of his reactions, but Neil looked sullen, as if he did not like the joke.

Shame on him. It was brilliant.

\-----

Neil didn’t know what he was supposed to do now, but it certainly helped that it came almost naturally during practice that afternoon.

“Neil!” Victoria jogged up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. “Huh, now I actually have to reach up to do that.”

“Ha ha.” Neil eyed her a little cautious. “What do you want?”

“Neil, this is our first practice together. Also, I’m checking up on you.”

Like they always did when they saw each other, when they still lived together. Check up and see if anything had changed, what bruises or cuts had disappeared or appeared and how their mental state was. They used to act like siblings, but all those years apart did not make the urge to care go away apparently. Neil caught himself looking at her covered arms and legs, to her eyes and making notes on how everything looked and how she appeared to be. 

Victoria grinned. “It’ll take me a while before I can be used to those scars over there.” She pointed at his face. 

“Take your time,” Neil said.

“Are you seriously saying I should stare at your face until I feel comfortable with them?” Victoria raised an eyebrow. “Nu-uh. That’s gonna take forever.”

“You don’t have to feel comfortable staring at my face.”

“Thank you.”

“You do have to learn to live with the scars.”

“Welp, it has been a good life then.” Victoria’s eyes were sparkling. “I always thought seventeen was the perfect age to die. Never growing up and becoming an adult. Sounds good.”

“Age doesn’t say anything about being an adult or not.”

“No?”

“I have so much examples we’ll be talking all night on.”

Victoria smiled softly. “Let’s do that another time, okay? We kind of need to practice for the first time today. I’m curious to know if Kevin is his usual grumpy self or if there’s another level of grumpy. Do you think ‘Grumpy’ is a good nickname?”

Neil laughed. Some of the Foxes behind them squealed and looked at the two of them, but none came to join their conversation. It didn’t matter. Neil felt a lot better after that, knowing he and Victoria might have grown older, but that didn't mean they weren't like they were before.

Andrew looked at him when he came into the boy’s locker room, grinning ear to ear.

“Victoria hasn’t changed much,” he said softly. “It makes me feel a lot better about this ordeal.”

“Whatever Junkie. I didn’t ask.”

“But I liked telling you.”

“Shut up and get dressed, before Kevin throws a tantrum.”

Neil smiled when he immediately heard Victoria say ‘Grumpy’ in his head. He might have a new threat to worry about, but at least he got his ‘sibling’ back. And Andrew was with them on this, which helped him too.

He wasn’t alone this time. And that meant everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some happiness, after all the angst and terror and looming danger. I quite liked writing the Neil-Victoria dynamic. And of course from Victoria's point of view. She's... interesting.  
> (aka I love her and am willing to die for her, but that's probably because she is my own original character, thrown into this cruel and happy world that is All For The Game)  
> Again: if there are any mistakes, please tell me! English is not my first language.


	5. Chapter 5

The Foxes did not trust Victoria after the knife-incident, but one by one they started warming up to her.

It started, to everyone’s surprise, with Andrew.

“Hey Vicky,” he greeted her on their first morning practice.

Neil frowned, but did not comment. Andrew ignored the idiot and jogged to the petite blonde who had stopped in her tracks when he called her.

“Hey Andrew,” she said. “I have to come up with a nickname for you too, but ‘Drew’ is way to common. How about Andy?”

“I will kill you if you give me a nickname.”

Victoria was not impressed. Maybe that’s why he started to admire her. She was not impressed by anything, smart and funny. Besides, he needed her, so becoming something like friends was obligatory. Neil had been friends with her, hadn’t he?

“So I just have to tolerate you give me one and suffer endlessly.” Victoria shook her head. “Not gonna happen Andy.”

“It was nice knowing you Vicky.”

“Likewise.”

“Andrew Joseph Minyard!” Coach Wymack bellowed when Andrew grabbed his knife. “What did I say about knives during practice?”

“It wasn’t me coach!” Andrew shouted back, throwing his empty hands in the air. “Besides, isn’t this above your paygrade?”

“Keeping my players alive is not above my paygrade! It’s a requirement!”

“Bummer,” Victoria said, walking faster to catch up with the other girls to go to their locker room. 

Andrew slowed down to walk beside Neil again, and he swore he saw a ghost of a smile on that moron’s face.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Neil said. Then, after a pause: “Is it just me, or did you actually enjoy that?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Neil grinned. “I’m glad you’re starting to warm up to someone else Andrew.”

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about. And we’re taking her to Colombia Friday.”

“Okay.”

Andrew looked at Neil, who was still smiling. That idiot had nerve, to think he actually liked Victoria.

But, Andrew even though he refused to believe it, he was growing a little fond of the petite blonde with her big mouth and lack of fear. He did want to admit he found her interesting, which was what he told Renee.

But like? No.

\-----

The next one to warm up to her was Renee, but she found it hard to actually hate or dislike people in general. Unless they’re assholes, but Victoria was not.

It was after afternoon practice, in the girls’ locker room.

Victoria had just finished showering and Renee was busy tying her shoelaces.

“Is it true you were a gang member?” she had asked.

Renee looked up and nodded, smiling a little. She must have heard this from Andrew. For some reason he started tolerating her, and had even admitted to Renee he found her interesting.

“Yes.”

“That’s where you learned to fight.” Victoria’s eyes glistened a little. 

“That’s correct.”

“What’s your favorite technique?”

This was a question Renee had not expected. A little taken back, she looked at the girl in front of her, while Allison and Dan tried not to make it too obvious they were eavesdropping.

“How do you mean?” she asked Victoria.

“Well, when I participated in streetfights, they used to make fun of my height, which was a little disadvantage if I have to be honest. So when I attacked, I made sure they would not expect it, which meant I had to get close.” Victoria put her shirt on and smiled mischievously. “They nicknamed me Tiny Chameleon after that, since I adapted my style to my opponent’s. Therefore my style varied, but my technique did not. ‘Expect the unexpected’, they always said when they were talking about me. ‘And even then you’ll have a hard time fighting’.”

Renee smiled. Victoria sure sounded proud while she told her story. Her parents might not have liked it, and it sure wasn’t legal or safe, but Victoria had enjoyed it.

“I don’t know my favorite technique,” Renee admitted. “I don’t fight anymore. I did use knives most often, so I guess you could say that used to be my favorite way to fight.”

“But you spar with Andrew, don’t you?”

“When he needs to, yes.”

“And you train Neil to use knives.”

“Yes. He asked me to, in order to protect himself.”

Victoria smiled sweetly. “That’s nice of you. Maybe you can help me sometime too, if I need some stress-relief. If you don’t mind.”

Renee smiled back. “Of course not. Maybe you can learn me some new moves too.”

\-----

Nicky was the next one, but that’s because he is easy to befriend too.

All it took was her showing him pictures of her boyfriend.

“OH MY GOD!” Nicky screamed when she did while they were eating in the dining hall. “He’s cute!”

“I know.” Victoria smiled fondly. “His name is William Visser, and he’s Dutch.”

“Dutch? Then how did you two meet?”

“He was an exchange student at my school. He was there for a year and then flew back. In that year we hooked up, dated and got into a relationship. We’ll be together for almost three years in a week.”

“Almost?” Nicky asked, loving every second of their conversation. “Girl, that’s long. Me and Erik have been together for longer than that, but he’s like my soulmate.”

“William is mine,” Victoria said, shrugging. “We do fight from time to time. Broke up a few times too, but never longer than a month. We’d always start missing the other and wanting to be back together, which always leads to conversation, making up and being in a relation again. The last time it happened, a year ago, William flew over and stood on my doorstep with a bouquet and we both cried, even though we hadn’t spoken in a week.”

“Aaaaaww,” Nicky cooed. “Me and Erik have never broken up, though we do fight sometimes. We always make up after that though, because we both hate hurting the other.”

“That’s sweet too.” Victoria smiled. “Can I see pics of your one true love now or what?”

Nicky laughed and grabbed his phone, which led to Aaron rolling his eyes and leaving to go find Katelyn, Kevin scoffing and a lot of minutes of both Victoria and Nicky fawning over each other’s boyfriends, making plans for double dates and laughing a lot.

Neil did not know if he was supposed to stop Victoria from doing so, because she was dangerous, but when he saw the two of them he couldn’t help but smile and be happy for her. Be happy Victoria was getting along with and joining his family.

\-----

The other Foxes bonded with Victoria when they learned she used to know Neil.

It was a movie night like all others, but since Victoria had started bonding with Renee and Nicky, she had ended up with them, even though it was supposed to be ‘old’ Foxes-only.

They were discussing which movie to watch, which quickly ended up with the same thing they always used to make up their minds: what movie does Neil need to watch? 

Nicky and Allison had settled on something called High School Musical, and while it did sound familiar to Neil, he didn’t think he had seen it.

“Neil has already seen those,” Victoria cut in, and when everyone including Neil looked at her, she added: “They’re the weird ones with a lot of singing and basketball, remember? You told me you hated all the singing, which meant I had to tease you by singing their songs every time you walked past my at school or at home.”

Wait, now that Victoria mentioned it… Neil felt ice flow through his veins. He hated those movies. 

“Wait, you already knew Neil?” Matt asked, on behalf of the rest of the room probably.

Victoria frowned. “Yeah, I did. Why are you acting so surprised? I thought it was obvious.”

“No?” Dan said. “Why do you think that?”

“How we treat each other for example. And I also thought Neil might have mentioned something about it, but apparently I was wrong.” Victoria shrugged. “Oh well. We met when he and his mother were in Germany. She asked my dad to help her with something and they ended up staying with us for about a year. I was… Twelve? Something like that. We went to the same high school and acted like siblings, since we lived together and had to have some kind of explanation for that.”

“Really?” Allison shot Neil a look. “Tell us more.”

Victoria raised an eyebrow. “... What do you want to know?”

“What he was like.” Dan sat next to the petite blonde. “His hobbies, friends, traits, etcetera.”

“That’s a lot Wilds,” Victoria mused. “Well. He was pretty insufferable at first. Jumpy, paranoid, a loner… I tried to get to know him, but he seemed to think he and his mom were staying with us for a short amount of time, but they didn’t, which meant he had to warm up to me, since we were supposed to get along.” 

Neil remembered that. He hated Victoria and her attempts to bond with him, but after a while he had to admit liking her presence and they bonded, acting like siblings along the way and even promising to keep in touch when Neil and his mom would depart again and keep running, but they both knew they couldn’t keep that promise. Victoria and him were also trained by the same teachers in material arts, even though Neil mostly stuck to the basics since he always got his ass kicked by Victoria.

“He had blond hair back then, dying it a little like mine to help with the ‘we’re siblings’ act. It was weird seeing him like this now, even though I already knew it’s his natural hair color.”

“Do you have pics?” Allison pushed.

Neil froze when Victoria smiled mischievously and fished her phone out of her pocket. “Do I? My favorite is him on one of our school trips, when we were going hiking and he tripped and fell into a small puddle, because it had rained the day before. It’s hilarious: he looks so confused.”

Neil rose and tried to grab Victoria’s phone, but she knew he was going for it before he had even moved and held it out of his range, laughing. She got up and ran away from him before he could attempt again.

“They already have embarrassing photos of me, they don’t need to see more,” Neil told her, but Victoria didn’t listen and showed Matt, who was the closest to her. 

Matt grinned like crazy. “I want a copy.”

“Okay.” Victoria ducked again and ran away, laughing when Neil followed.

“Catch me if you can!” She ran around the room and disappeared into the hallway, still laughing.

Neil had no choice but to follow. “You know I’m faster than you are!”

“Oh really?”

Victoria had already reached the stairs, jumping down and using parkour-skills to make up for her inability to be faster than Neil was.

Dan followed, camera out and filming every move Neil and Victoria made, grinning ear to ear. The other Foxes had followed too, curious to how this was going to work out.

Neil caught up to Victoria on the first floor, where she attempted to go out, but wasn’t fast enough to bolt through the doors. Neil blocked her and grabbed her by the wrists.

Victoria had the time of her life, laughing all the way. “No fair! Using my height to your advantage!”

“You used to be taller than I was, remember?” He asked her. “You did the same.”

“Still. No fair.”

Neil got a hold of her phone and tried to turn it on, but Victoria had a password which he didn't know. She laughed harder when she saw his murderous face and stuck her tongue out.

“Ha!” She said. “Suck it Neil!”

The others laughed and made him let her go, by saying things like: ‘Don’t treat your little sister like that’. 

Neil glared at Victoria before letting go, but he kept the phone. 

“Hey!” She said, jumping when he held it high. “Meany.”

“Delete that photo and I will give it back,” Neil said. 

Victoria sighed, but instead of complying, she started tickling him in his armpits.

Neil went down laughing, begging Victoria to stop and Victoria giving him the ultimatum of giving her phone back.

After a while he did as he’d been told, since he really couldn’t hold any longer. Laughing he stayed on the ground, while Victoria made a picture of him lying on the ground and smiled victoriously. 

“Ha, I knew you were still ticklish.” She grinned. 

“Neil’s ticklish?” Nicky asked. “Oh wow.”

“I like this new information,” Allison said, grinning. “Now we know how to get him to do what he wants.”

“If you’re going to use it against him, I will cut you,” Andrew said, but the glint in his eyes was playful, as if he liked the idea of Neil being ticklish.

“You’re welcome,” Victoria said. “Coming Neil? Or do you like the ground so much you don’t want to get up anymore.”

“My stomach aches,” he whined. “Your fault.”

“Oh really? You didn’t want to give me my phone back.”

“You started showing them pictures!”

“They asked for those! And I was happy to comply.”

“I hate you.”

“Love you too,” Victoria said, walking upstairs again. “Come on! We need to eat popcorn and watch a nostalgic movie because your childhood was shit.”

\----- 

The Foxes might like Victoria, she was still a mystery to them. She didn’t interact with the other freshmen, but she wasn’t around the other Foxes too much either. Usually she was on her phone, somewhere in the background. A presence, not much more.

Allison knew she was going with the Monsters to Colombia tonight, Victoria had told the others she had been invited by Andrew. Allison understood why: Victoria told them she had known both Neil and his mother, which had to mean her father had to be in the same circles as they were all those years ago, but Allison wanted to get her own answers.

Before she could though, Kevin had stolen her to practice precision shots, along with Neil and Jack, the other freshman. 

As far as Allison could see, Victoria was pretty good at it, but Kevin of course wasn’t satisfied.

“You need to hit the goal in the top corner Victoria!” He spat when she had shot again. “Not in the middle.”

“Do I look like I give a damn about shooting accurately Day?” Victoria spat. “I hit it, right? Who cares about the angle or the spot on the goal, as long as I hit it, I’m good right?”

“Not when we’re doing precision shots,” Kevin said.

“Even when we’re doing those. I’m not some robot that can only hit the exact target you program it to.”

“Not ‘even when we’re doing those’. Especially when we’re doing those!”

“Jesus, break it up you two!” Dan shouted. “Just get back to practice!”

Allison ignored her to watch the scene unfold. Neil looked like he wanted to punch someone - probably because he couldn’t practice any further, or maybe because he didn’t want Kevin and Victoria to fight - and Jack had stopped paying attention to harass Sheena instead. 

“Whatever. I hit the goal, the goalie missed, we gain a point, hooray. Move on.” Victoria started to walk away to get the ball, but Kevin stopped her by putting his stick in front of her.

“The goalie could see you were going to hit the goal at that point and saved it. The other team gains a point because you were too stubborn to listen to what I have to say and we lose the game.”

“That escalated quickly.”

Allison had to refrain herself from laughing. Kevin on the other hand, wasn’t amused.

“Cut the jokes and hit the goal where I tell you to hit.”

“No. I’m not one of your minions.”

“I can have coach bench you.”

“Are we gonna go crying to daddy now?” Victoria snorted. “Please.”

That was a low blow. Even Allison knew that. Kevin looked shocked, but before anyone could react to it, Victoria’s eyes lit up.

“You know what? I’ll prove to you I don’t need your precision shots.” She looked Kevin in the eye and smiled mischievously. “Wanna bet I can hit the goal without even looking?” 

This caught everyone’s attention. Kevin was shocked, but did not back down.

“Sure. From where?”

“Anywhere you put me, as long as it’s thirty feet from the goal.”

“Thirty feet?” Matt could not believe his ears. “Okay. I’ll bet against it. Ten dollars.”

“I’m on against too,” Allison said. “Twenty dollars!”

“I’ll bet for Victoria doing it. Ten dollars.” Renee always took the losing side, the sweetheart.

The rest placed their bets too, making the betting grounds ten against eighty-five. And to everyone’s surprise, Neil bet too.

“I’m with Renee.” Neil locked eyes with Victoria. “Twenty.”

“Whoa, is Neil really betting?” Nicky gasped. “This is history being made.”

“Are we done betting and actually ready to watch me do it?” Victoria raised an eyebrow. “Someone needs to blindfold me.”

“I’ll do it.” Neil gave Kevin his bandana and Kevin strapped in front of Victoria’s eyes.

Then he turned her around a few times in order to make sure she had no feeling of direction and set her in front of the goal, at approximately thirty feet. The goal was to her right, meaning he made her have a slight disadvantage since her right hand was her dominant hand.

“Ready?” Kevin asked, standing beside her.

“Ready when you are.”

As soon as Kevin let go and put a ball in Victoria’s net, she stepped to her right and took a swing. The goal lit up red.

The Foxes went wild. Kevin’s eyes were big, his mouth hung open and his eyebrows almost disappeared in his hairline.

Neil did not seem too surprised, but he did look a little shocked. Nicky slumped Victoria’s shoulders when she removed the bandana and looked at the result. Matt soon joined them and almost threw the approximately five feet blonde girl off her feet. Dan was screaming and hugged Renee, who was smiling broadly. Andrew had tilted his head and simply stared, whereas his twin brother couldn’t believe what had just happened.

And Allison instantly loved the girl and her big mouth and weird talents.

“I must have miscalculated,” Victoria muttered when everyone else had calmed down.

“Why?” Allison asked.

“I aimed for the middle, and you all said it hit the goal on its left side.”

The Foxes laughed. Victoria was confused, but soon cracked a smile and laughed with them.

And in that moment Allison knew that girl was going to be just fine. Even though she still had to survive Colombia with the monsters. 

She couldn’t help herself asking though, when practice was over and they were changing in the girls’ locker room. “How did you do that?”

Victoria looked at Allison and then shrugged. “I knew Kevin was going to put me at approximately thirty feet, because he wanted to make it harder for me. I also knew Kevin wasn’t going to put me in front of the goal, so I guessed the goal would be on the side he was standing on. It was a gamble, but it worked out in the end, right?” She smiled mischievously.

Allison held up her hand and got the high five she wanted. Victoria was definitely going to be one of her favorite Foxes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter this time, with more fluff and family-fun. I liked writing this, the dynamic between Victoria and the 'old' Foxes. I especially like Andrew and Victoria getting along, because apart from Neil, she's the only one who doesn't mind his more violent temper and reserved personality. But who knows. Things might change in the future. Colombia is coming up after all.


	6. Chapter 6

It took some time to fit them, but in the end they managed to fit in the car. 

Luckily Victoria was small too, so she squeezed in just fine between Aaron and Nicky. 

Victoria was chatting the entire ride, telling them about her boyfriend William, her experience with streetfights and about her and Neil.

She still used his former name from time to time, but no-one blamed her when she said she was used to his other name. 

Andrew stopped at Sweeties and they got ice cream, which meant Neil could see if Victoria still had a sweet tooth. He hadn’t seen her eat that much sweets yet, but he suspected she bought new ones every day.

And he was right. Victoria had twice the amount of caramel and chocolate chips on her ice cream than the people of Sweeties usually did on their ice creams, because she asked for it.

Kevin was disgusted by it, as always, but Andrew seemed impressed.

“Why do you eat so much sugar?” Kevin asked her.

“Because I can. And it’s delicious. You should try some.” She tried to give him some, but Kevin ducked away, earning a grin from the petite girl.

Nicky laughed at them, which meant Kevin glared at him before he ate his own, ‘healthier’ ice cream. Aaron merely rolled his eyes, even though he looked a little amused by it.  
Victoria ate her ice cream in silence, listening to Nicky chatting away about Erik, his sore muscles and his sadness their vacation was ending soon.

They got into the car again and went to Eden’s, where Roland was waiting for them at the bar. He was surprised to see Victoria among them.

“And who might she be?” he asked.

“Victoria Mattner.” Victoria held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Roland.”

“Ah, the bartender Andrew was talking about. I thought so.” Victoria smiled. “I’d like a soda please, no alcohol.”

“She’s seventeen,” Andrew said. “Legally not allowed.”

“When did that stop you?” Roland muttered.

Victoria giggled and followed Aaron, Nicky and Kevin to find a table. 

Roland looked at Andrew with a questioning look.

“No,” Andrew said. 

Roland shrugged, made their drinks and send Andrew and Neil on their way. They got to their table and everyone grabbed what they wanted and started drinking.  
A few rounds later Victoria was still on her first soda, but for some reason, it didn’t bother anyone but Neil. 

Not much later, Nicky and Aaron disappeared onto the dance floor and dragged Kevin with them. Victoria waved them goodbye and smiled when Nicky almost tripped over his own feet.

When they had disappeared though she turned to Andrew.

“What did you drug my drink for?”

Neil was surprised. He hadn’t seen Andrew do it, and Roland wasn’t allowed to, since Andrew had told him no. Or at least, that was what Neil thought.

Andrew smiled, which surprised Neil even more. “So you tasted it.”

“I was trained to. I can identify most of the poison and drugs one could slip in almost every type of drink or food.” She shot Neil a look. “If Neil and his mom had stayed, he would’ve done it with me, but it’s better this way. You haven’t answered my question.”

“I needed to test you.” Andrew drank the last bit of his shot. “And I have some questions I knew you wouldn’t answer if I asked them while you were sober.”

“Try me.”

Neil knew Andrew was suspicious. Victoria had not taken the drug, so everything she said might as well be a lie. Neil knew Victoria though, and he knew she didn’t do anything halfheartedly. So when she said Andrew should try her, she was aiming to gain something. She was taught to manipulate her way up, but also to keep your friends close and enemies closer, to be careful with what you said and where you said it. 

“What’s your real goal here?” Andrew asked, leaning on the table and looking at the girl sitting across him and Neil.

“To be freed.” Victoria didn’t explain, but Andrew didn’t push.

“How do you plan on saving Neil? On protecting him and the other Foxes once they start being in the line of fire.”

“Well, it depends.” Victoria leaned back. “It depends on a lot of things, but I’ll tell you one thing: once Father finds out I’m working against him, things will start for real. That’s the breaking point of this game of his. If we postpone that point as much as we can, things will remain safer.”

“Why will it be more dangerous?”

“Why do you think?” Victoria returned the question. “You have a working brain I hope.”

Andrew remained silent for a while. Neil decided to join the conversation.

“He’ll start aiming at you too,” he tried.

Victoria smiled deviously. “Ten points to Nat. One to Andy for trying.”

“What will you do when that happens?” Andrew asked next.

Victoria looked at him, with cold, grey eyes which would chill every other person she’d stare at to the bone, but Andrew did not seem to be affected. She remained silent for a long while, staring Andrew down.

“I’ll do as I did before.” Victoria smiled again. “Protect Neil and execute the plan to kill Father.”

Andrew was not satisfied with that answer. “How?”

“That depends. I might have to start murdering people, I might have to kidnap Neil and bring him to a safe house. It all depends on the circumstances.”

“How can you take every situation in account?”

Victoria poured her soda on the ground. “By planning for almost an entire year.”

“You knew I was here for almost a year?” Neil asked, surprised.

“No.” Victoria looked at him again. “But we did know your mother had been killed by your father’s men almost immediately. Father had someone on you as well, a spy who had lost you countless of times and learned to keep track of every road out of town. As soon as we heard, Father started planning on killing you and I started planning on preventing that. It took me one and a half year to come up with this, and in that time you joined the Foxes and Baltimore happened.” She remained silent for a while. “Staying in one spot made it easier to track you for Father’s men, which meant I had to act fast and convince him to let me join the Foxes as well as to keep an eye on you. I have definitely not taken every situation in account, but I have the most likely events planned out, which will help me act on Father’s actions as soon as I hear about them.”

That… was a lot of information. Andrew was frowning a little, Victoria looked bored and Neil was flabbergasted. He’d been followed without him knowing. Had his mother known? Was that the reason they skipped Europe after that and kept on moving instead of staying somewhere for a while? How could they know this wasn’t a half-truth, like Neil used when he first came back after Eden’s and being drugged? 

Victoria put her glass on the table. “There are two men in this bar right now, both weaponized with guns and four knives, ready to take you out as soon as you’re alone. Or maybe they’ll just attack us when we leave, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. They’re Malcolm’s men after all.” 

“Who?” Neil asked, at the same time as Andrew asked sharply: “Where?”

“Malcolm is one of Father’s recent recruits. He’s direct, acts impulsively and never plans ahead, which is his weakness, as he’s never prepared. His men are the same, although some might have more brain cells than Malcolm does. And one is over at the bar, the man in the black leather jacket with the mismatching socks, and the other just went to the toilet, but he has a similar outfit, even though he wears these awful brown jeans what just fit and red boots.” Victoria’s nose wrinkled. “Some people have no sense of fashion whatsoever. It’s awful.”

Neil thought how Allison, Nicky and Victoria could be sitting on a bench in the mall and roast every person's outfit together, but he waved those thoughts away. He had other things to think about now.

“I think I’ll pay a visit to the toilets and get another drink.” Victoria rose, but Andrew stopped her by scoffing.

“I think we better get going. Kevin has had more than enough to drink.” 

They locked eyes. Victoria shrugged and walked away, not rejecting. 

Neil and Andrew stayed where they were, even though they probably had to get the others and get out of here. Neil felt the urge to run, but he kept his head cool and tried to breathe.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked him.

“Yes.”

Andrew grabbed him in the neck and put Neil’s head to his shoulder, letting it rest there. Neil breathed a little easier, but his chest and stomach still hurt. He didn’t think he could handle this for another year, constantly tiptoeing and bringing everyone in danger with his every move. He liked feeling free and just play Exy and not give a damn about whatever. He liked his time with Andrew in Colombia, falling asleep next to him and knowing he was alive, safe and happy. 

“You are Neil Abram Josten,” Andrew whispered in his ear. “Starting striker of the Foxes. And no-one will take that away from you. I will make sure of that.”

Neil felt a little better, but also… guilty. He didn’t want Andrew to do this, to take on the Mattner’s when he knew Andrew was no match for them. Maybe he underestimated Andrew, maybe he overestimated the Mattner’s, but he couldn’t think of a way he was going to survive this year. 

No. Neil clenched his fists. He couldn't think like that. He couldn't just give up, couldn't give the Foxes up, couldn't give Exy up, couldn't give Andrew up. He had to fight for what was his and his to keep. 

He closed his eyes and said: "We will make sure of that." 

Andrew didn't answer, but he did let Neil go. 

Neil was okay with that. He felt a little better now, filled with determination. They wanted him? Fine. Come and get him.

Neil smiled at Andrew. Andrew didn’t return it, looking into the crowd. 

He stared at someone, making Neil turn around to see who it was.

It was Victoria. She walked over to them with her pumps - which made her taller than Neil, something she teased him with before getting in the Maserati. Her black dress seemed fine, but there were some wet places. She was smiling.

“I don’t think they’ll bother us anymore. What were we talking about again?”

Andrew glanced at the wet places on her dress and clacked his tongue. “Those are going to stain if we don’t treat it right away. Let’s go home.”

No-one argued. They grabbed the others from the dance floor and went home, where Victoria called dibs on the sofa before Kevin could reach it, which meant he had to sleep on the armchair. 

Neil followed Andrew upstairs and let himself fall on the bed, exhausted already.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked him.

“Yes,” Neil said, and he received a long, sweet kiss.

“I guess we have to thank Victoria for recognizing those guys,” Neil murmured when they were laying next to each other.

Andrew didn’t answer. He got up, dressed himself in his pajama and let Neil take the bathroom after him.

When they were laying next to each other again in the dark, under the sheets, Andrew spooned Neil after asking if Neil was okay with it. With Andrew at his back, Neil felt safe, and with his arms over his chest, he also felt warm and loved.

“We don’t have to thank Vicky for anything,” Andrew whispered when Neil was about to fall asleep. “She’s just doing her job: make sure her wish comes true.”

"So you don't trust her."

"Strangely enough I do." Andrew rubbed his nose against Neil's neck. "I trust her to switch sides and stab us in the back when she cannot reach her own goals by siding with us. I trust her to betray us when she needs to, which makes her dangerous."

Neil hummed. He could see why. And he also agreed with Andrew. 

He knew Victoria. He knew how she had been raised. He knew she would do that as soon as it served her cause.

And yet... Neil couldn't help but feel something else was at stake here. Who would plan an entire year only to abandon it and do something else if it didn't work out? Not Victoria.

He shared his thoughts with Andrew, who remained silent for a while.

"That just makes her more dangerous," Andrew said when Neil almost fell asleep again. "A plan can always fail, but planning a year means you have multiple back-up plans. And one of those can be that she switched sides."

Neil grunted. "I'll be fine."

"You better be."

"I have you."

Andrew said nothing. Then he huffed. "134 percent."

Neil chuckled. 

"Going 136."

"Do you think I will someday reach the 200?"

"Probably." Andrew buried his face in Neil's hair. "Now go to sleep. I don't want to talk anymore."

Neil did as he was told. Not much later he fell asleep, feeling safe and sound in Andrew's arms.

Andrew watched him for some time before falling asleep himself, silently promising himself he'd do almost everything to make sure Neil survived. Even if that took trusting Victoria to have their back until she didn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand another chapter! A little angsty, but fun nonetheless.   
> (Also, there might be a lot of mistakes. I was at a party until 2 am, which definitely fucked up my sleeping schedule and made me drink lots of coffee today. Basically I'm living on coffee, but whatever. Please tell me if there are, so I can correct them. Thanks in advance)


	7. Chapter 7

When they returned to Fox Tower, Allison immediately snatched Victoria to change clothes and take her shopping. Neil watched them go, chatting and laughing. He wondered if Victoria would tell Allison everything that had happened or if she’d keep it secret. Probably the last one, since they hadn’t told Kevin or Nicky or Aaron either.

Neil did not like keeping secrets again, but he knew he had to. To keep them safe.

Andrew was staring at him, which made Neil smile.

“Staring,” he said, knowing full well it was usually the other way around and Andrew saying those words.

“Stupid,” Andrew said in German. 

“I’m fine.”

Andrew did not answer to that.

Neil sighed and went to their room, knowing Andrew would follow.

Nicky and Aaron got to their room and Kevin walked to the bedroom to sleep his hangover off properly - he complained about how hard the armchair had been, but when Andrew threatened to put him there permanently and Victoria cheerfully told him to shut his mouth, he stopped - which meant Andrew and Neil had the living room for themselves.

"Yes or no?" Neil asked Andrew, who sat on the sofa.

"Yes."

Neil went up to sit between Andrew's legs, head against his chest. Andrew grunted, but still put his arm around Neil's chest after asking for his consent and getting it.

They sat there for a while, content and a little drowsy. 

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Neil asked, looking up.

Andrew stared at him. His hazel eyes almost looked golden, drowning Neil in their prettiness. They were really pretty.

"Staring," Andrew said, and then looked away.

Neil huffed. "You started!"

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't."

Neil rolled his eyes, done with this conversation. "You still haven't answered my question."

Andrew ignored him. Neil tapped him on his arm.

"If you want to watch something, go ahead," Andrew told him. 

Neil resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but he didn't get up either.

"Why aren't you getting something?" Andrew asked after a while. "I thought you wanted to see a movie."

"Nah, I'm good." Neil snuggled closer and closed his eyes.

Andrew stared at his redhead for some time.

"Junkie," he muttered, while grabbing a blanket to put over both of them.

Neil laughed. "I'm your junkie."

"139 percent."

That made Neil laugh even harder. Andrew watched him for some time before scoffing and stuffing a cushion in Neil's face. 

"I hate you."

"I know." Muffled by the cushion, it sounded like 'eye-ow'.

Andrew scoffed and put the cushion away. Then he tangled his hand in Neil's hair - after asking permission - and closed his eyes. 

Neil listened to his breath easing, until Andrew had fallen asleep. And it didn't take Neil long to fall asleep after that.

\-----  
Allison had to be sure Victoria was okay for some reason. Victoria had already told the other blonde she was capable of taking care of herself, but Allison had to ask at least a dozen times if she were sure and Andrew did not do anything weird or damaging.

“Andrew asked if I could come again next week,” Victoria told Allison when they were discussing the subject again. 

She knew this would probably mean she’d joined the ‘Monsters’ of the team in Allison’s eyes, which could explain the fire in her grey eyes.

“Oh no,” Allison said. “You’re mine. They’re boys only, so no place for a girl like you.”

Victoria almost laughed. She actually fit the description of monster better than any of the currently nicknamed. Maybe Andrew could be seen as a monster, but Victoria just saw him as overly protective of what he saw as his. As a dragon hoarding his gold. And since dragons are both monsters and jaw-dropping mythical creatures, he could be seen as a monster.

“Aaaww, thank you,” Victoria decided to say. “But trust me, I’m not going to join their group. I just like Colombia, and if they’re willing to take me, I’m not going to say no.”

“Your funeral,” Allison commented, and then they went into another shop to look at a dress Allison saw.

A few hours later they were sitting in a cafe with more than a few shopping bags and a cup of coffee and cake.

Victoria enjoyed the cake and drank her coffee, much to Allison’s horror.

“Do you know how much sugar you put in your coffee?” she asked.

Victoria tried to look innocent. “Not that much.”

“Three whole cubes, and if I’d let you, you probably would’ve added more.”

“See? It’s not as bad as can be.”

“Coffee is for the caffeine, not the sugar. You should’ve gotten chocolate milk if you wanted sugar.”

Victoria blinked a few times. “No. Fight me.”

“Gladly, coffee-ruiner.” But Allison was laughing, which meant she did not take the offer seriously.

Victoria rolled her eyes and looked at the people, wondering if she’d recognize anyone. Strangely enough, she didn’t, but she did see a woman wearing the ugliest pumps she had ever seen.

“Oh my God, Allison.” She nudged Allison’s leg with her own. “Look at those pumps.”

“What pumps?” Allison only needed a second to see which pumps Victoria was talking about. “What the hell? Those are hideous!”

“Exactly.” Victoria took another sip of her coffee. “Especially with that dress.”

“Girl, don’t get me started.”

“We might need some painkillers after looking at her too long, I mean, I already feel a headache coming up.”

“Then don’t look at the man with the pink shoes. The shoes are fine though.”

Victoria looked and immediately regretted it. “But the rest of his outfit definitely needs changing. Oh my God, I thought Neil was bad, but this is worse.”

“Neil was bad though,” Allison agreed with her. 

“Did you know Andrew always buys his outfit to Colombia? That was like the first time I saw him and thought: ‘boy, looking good’.”

“No I didn’t, but it’s good Andrew has some fashion sense. Neil wears his clothes from time to time, and they’re definitely better than what he came to us with.”

“When he and his mom got to us first it was bad too, but Father decided he needed a decent wardrobe to go to school with, so it got better. I even gave him a makeover once, even though he only did it because he had lost a bet to me and had to pay up.”

“You gave him a makeover?” Allison grinned. “I have wanted to do so for a long time now. Tell me, how can I convince him to?”

Victoria thought for a while, smiling at all the fond memories she came across. And also at Allison’s eager. It could benefit their plan if Neil got himself engaged in some activities with the other Foxes before Father would stop caring about potential witnesses and just plainly kill everyone in sight.

“I would say do the same as I did and bet with him, but he has probably learned from the experience. So the next thing on my list is: take a hostage. Or just plain force him by offering something worse. Or plead. No, I’d probably take some hostage and force him that way.”

“Nah, I’m not coming close to monster if I don’t have to. So do you know any leverages?”

Victoria smiled deviously. “Does he still hate vegetables?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allison needed a friend to judge other people with. Well, she found one.  
> (also Andreil makes me sappy: they are waaaaaaaaaaaay too good and cute)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for panic attacks. And mentions of scars. And mentions of self-harm.

The first week of school was coming up faster than Victoria had expected it to. There were no attempts to take Neil’s life other than that time at Eden’s she had stopped, so she guessed the real task was up ahead now. Lucky for her, she knew his timetable and had made her own accordingly, so she could accompany him if it were necessary.

She and Allison had tried to convince him to have them give him a makeover, but he ran off with Andrew somewhere, so they couldn’t find him.

Victoria suspected they were on the roof, since she didn’t think Neil would hide on another floor or go outside. Or rather, Andrew wouldn’t let him. He might not officially be Neil’s bodyguard, but he did act like one sometimes. It was adorable.

Victoria received a text from her brother the day before classes started.

‘Take care and be careful.’

She didn’t text back and deleted the message. Her brother would know she had read it if she just did what he told her to do.

“Your yearly check up with Abby and Betsy are coming up,” Wymack told them during practice that day. “I don’t care who goes first, fight that out among yourselves, but I will stress it’s mandatory.”

Dan had made a schedule, but Victoria asked if she could be last with Abby. 

“I don’t care when I have to go to doctor Dobson, but I’d like to be last with Abby.”

Dan smiled at her. “Okay, if you wish to.”

“Thanks Dan!” Victoria gave her captain a quick hug before heading off to the practice field to harass Kevin, her favorite time burner at practices. He was so easy to anger. And funny.

When it was her turn, she took a deep breath and went past Neil before heading to Abby.

“Did she flinch at yours?” she asked.

Neil’s expression softened, blue eyes looking sad but reassuring. “Yes, but if you ask her not to ask anything about them, she will not.”

Victoria nodded, but when she stood before the door, she still wasn’t sure if she’d ask Abby no to pry. 

On one hand, it would definitely be better if Victoria did not have to think about how she got them or tell Abby about her past, but on the other hand… She had experienced it helped, talking about it. It helped her feel less alone and vulnerable. 

The only reason Father had given her her own room, was to remind her she was all alone.

She knocked on Abby’s door.

“Come in!”

Victoria stepped into her office. Abby smiled at her when she came in.

“Abby?” Victoria hated how her voice sounded: small and squeaky.

“Something the matter dear?” Abby sounded concerned.

“Neil told be you wouldn’t ask if I asked you not to, but I don’t know what I want.” Victoria did not explain, but she did clench her stomach. She felt sick.

Abby understood. Victoria saw it in the way the woman tensed a little, eased again and took a deep breath.

“How about this? I will not ask, giving you some space to talk about it if you want to. Does that sound okay?”

No, Victoria thought. “Yes,” she said.

Abby smiled. “Then come sit over here.”

Victoria did as was told, but it felt like she was in a dream and someone else was moving her body. Her thoughts were an incoherent mess, her heart was pounding and her vision blurred.

“Hey, hey!” Abby rushed over before Victoria actually fell instead of just stumbled on her feet.

“It’s okay.” Victoria forced herself to calm down and cracked a smile. 

She had perfected it over the years. Even her own brother couldn’t see it anymore. William was the only one who could see right through her, but Victoria needed at least one person to do so. She would be going crazy if she had to go through it alone every time. She hated alone.

“Are you sure?”

Before Victoria could change her mind, she pulled her shirt over her head and sat on the bench. Her scars were in full display now, but if someone told her she still had a shirt to cover them, Victoria would have believed that, since she did not look whether or not she actually had pulled off her shirt. Victoria had closed her eyes and tried to fight her nausea.

“Oh.” Abby didn’t say anything else and began her examination.

Victoria did not want to look or ask why or how or what or whatever. She kept her eyes closed and thought of William, of his smile every time he made her smile, of his laughter; of Allison and her judging people in the cafe; of Neil smiling when he was lying on the ground after she had tickled him and gained possession of her phone again, happy and proud; of kicking Nathaniel’s butt when they fought; of her countless other opponents who were way better than Nathaniel-Neil ever was and how she had beaten them and made Father proud; of her mother’s laugh when Victoria had told her a funny story from school, of her mother’s loving eyes and embrace, of her mother’s kisses on the head or cheek and her little and proud smiles; of her brother, telling her to be strong and kissing her forehead as a last goodbye…

Victoria couldn’t hold it any longer. She felt the tears stream down her face, but true to her words, Abby did not comment. She did what she had to do in silence and then told her to put her shirt back on.

When Victoria had put her shirt on again, she wiped her tears away. She needed to be strong.

“Victoria?” Abby asked softly.

Victoria looked at her. Abby’s face was filled with worry, but her brown eyes were curious. They were tear-struck too, even though Victoria had not heard her cry or sniff even once.

“Can I please hug you?”

Victoria was surprised. Her body moved before she had even thought of moving, almost falling into Abby’s warm arms, who held her strongly but warm and loving, like her mother had.

‘It’s okay buttercup,’ she always said when Victoria was crying again. ‘You’re allowed to cry, but just with me. Cry your heart out, but do not show the other’s, who might see it as a weakness instead of a strength.’

Victoria cried again, in another woman’s arms this time. She cried and cried until there was nothing left but a never-ending emptiness. A pit with no bottom. A black hole.

“It’s okay Victoria,” Abby said softly, pressing a kiss on Victoria’s head. “You’re alive, beautiful, loved and the people who hurt you cannot get close to you here, okay? You’re strong, brave and cared for, and your past will only make you stronger in the end. So you’ll be fine, okay? Even if you don’t feel like you are, believe me when I say: you will be.”

Victoria sniffed. She willed herself to stop crying, just like she always did when time ran out with her mother and they had to go their separate ways again, or people would be coming soon and their alone-time was to be interrupted.

“Abby?” she asked hoarsely.

“Yes?”

“Can I come to you when I’m feeling like it?” Victoria hated her voice, brittle and soft. Like it was going to break. Like she was going to break. Which could happen any minute now.

“Of course!” Abby hugged her even tighter. “Of course you can. Anytime.” And then: “You know you can come to Wymack, Betsy or any of your teammates too?”

Victoria knew, but they wouldn’t suffice. She knew Abby wasn’t her mother, but oh how she wanted it to be true. How she wanted to hug her mother, hold her close and cry her entire heart out. How she wanted to hear her say ‘buttercup’ again. 

But it couldn’t happen. Her mother was dead and nothing could be done about that.

“Thank you,” Victoria said softly. 

“Anytime.”

Abby let go and Victoria got her act together. She rubbed on her arms, knowing what was underneath the sleeves of her panda t-shirt. 

Victoria did not want to leave yet, but fortunately Abby did not say anything and just grabbed her gear and started cleaning up.

“They’re from a dark period in my life.” Victoria did not know why she told this. 

She waited for Abby to ask her to elaborate, but the nurse merely smiled. Softly. Tears flowing over her face. 

“I was lost and… Why are you crying?”

Victoria didn’t mean to make Abby cry. She didn’t like it when people cried. She never knew how to react to those, how to comfort and make them feel better. 

“I’m always too late,” Abby said. “You’re all beaten up or scarred for life before I can even reach you. All I can do is patch you up, hug you and wipe those tears away.” Abby wiped Victoria’s tears away. “I cannot stop people from harming you, nor can I stop the world from throwing hate and spite. And honestly? When you said you didn’t know whether you wanted to talk about them or not, I thought I was going to see something like Neil’s scars, brought upon him by other people.”

Yeah. Victoria had seen those too. Neil told her every single story of them when she had woken up screaming and panting on one of the more difficult nights, when they had nightmares to fend off and demons to keep out. He had told her he hated them, but also knew they made him who he was, even though he didn’t want everyone to see them. Victoria had reluctantly showed him her biggest one, brought upon her by someone she didn’t even know. One of the many who had kidnapped her when she was younger. One of the many that had locked her up in a tiny, dark room without any light or food or company. One of the many that had made her cry and beg and plead and scream and-

“But yours?” Abby continued, quietly. “I don't know whether to say worse, but I'm inclined to. Seeing how someone had harmed themselves somehow feels worse than seeing someone who had been harmed by others. I promised not to ask, but know you can talk to me anytime. And also know it might be necessary for us to know. We don’t want a repeat of last year, with a different person.”

Victoria almost laughed. Oh the irony. The irony of this, of everything. It was going to be that and worse, she wanted to say. That and way, way worse. With two people. Maybe more if their plan succeeded.

But Victoria said nothing. She didn’t even respond to Abby, who had cupped Victoria’s face with her hands. 

“I think you should go back. Practice is almost over.” Abby let go and smiled. “You know where to find me.”

Victoria nodded once and went out. She felt empty and needed to get her act together before she faced the other’s again.

When she saw the Foxes coming down the hall, all they saw was a mask. Victoria smiled happily.

“Hey guys! Who has first period and or is willing to take me to the Tower to grab my stuff?”

They all smiled back. They genuinely smiled. 

Allison said she was willing to bring her, Victoria just had to wait and let her shower, change clothes and say goodbye to Renee and Dan.

Victoria smiled and told Allison she’d wait for her by her car. 

When she stepped outside, she got a text from her brother again.

‘Tomorrow morning. Somewhere on Nathaniel’s running route.’

She didn’t text back, again. She deleted the text and made a mental note to ask Neil if she could join him on his morning runs, and if they could take a route she had mapped out.  
Her breakdown was still somewhere in the back of her mind, but she ignored it and concentrated on her mission. 

There were other things she needed to take care of. And her own issues were not on that list.

Maybe she should avoid Abby, who somehow made her think she could have a shoulder to cry on. Victoria might need that shoulder, but she needed to finish the mission she had been given first. 

Would Abby see through her smile? Victoria's mother could. But she had been the only one, apart from William of course. 

"Ready?" Allison unlocked the car and got in.

Victoria followed her in and buckled up. She smiled to the other blonde. "Ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This made me think about 'Echo', from Jason Walker. It's a nice song.  
> Maybe I should make a playlist for this fanfic.   
> If I do, I'll notify you, but for now: thanks for reading this far! If you find any mistakes, please tell me. English is not my native language, so all you corrections will help me improve my writing.


	9. Chapter 9

Neil survived the entire first week without being killed or seeing people acting weird around him. It was almost like no-one was after him, no-one who was planning to kill him. He didn’t know whether that was good or bad.

Victoria had insisted on going with him on his morning runs, which meant he had company now every time. He liked it and they took the time to catch up on their adventures. 

Neil told her about everything that had happened in his freshman-year and before, in Millport, how his mother had died and the cities they had stayed at while they were running.

Victoria told him about her lonely days, the day she met William, the rest of that year and his departure, about the years after that, coming to the day her mother had died.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Neil said softly, while they walked into Fox Tower. “Liv was a kind woman.”

“She was the best mother I could have asked for.” Victoria was silent for a while. “It was hard after her passing.”

Neil saw it in the way her eyes started to water, her shoulders slumped and her bottom lip started to tremble. It was over in a flash, but Neil still saw how much it had hurt Victoria.

“At least she has her peace now.” Victoria said, without any emotion. 

Neil didn’t comment. He knew how hard it was to get over the death of someone close to you. He knew how much pain she had to stow away to live on, to survive in the mob-world.

Neil reached out, touching her shoulder before he had even thought about asking her if that were okay. 

Victoria smiled sadly. “Thanks, but I’m okay.”

Neil knew it was a lie, like his ‘I’m fine’ sometimes was too. Could it have to do with being tied into the world of the mafia?

They climbed the stairs in silence, but Neil squeezed Victoria’s shoulder before she got into her own room once more before he went back to his own.

Victoria didn’t smile this time.

\-----

Their first match was a home match against the Longhorns. The freshman were excited to play their first game, whereas Neil was excited to see Victoria play for real this time. During practice she usually played for fun, like it didn’t matter to her, but she did everything with a passion that made Neil believe she loved playing. Besides, he remembered how she had loved watching the games of their old school, even though she couldn’t play herself. 

Victoria did not look interested yet. She was typing on her phone and grinning while the others were warming up. Wymack had pulled her off court to scold at her because she stopped the others from warming up properly. After that she halfheartedly shot a few times on the goal, scored none and went with them to the sidelines when the referees told them their time was up.

“Okay, Abby said I had to say something before we started,” Wymack clasped his hands together and looked at his players. “But I know you’re not waiting for encouragement, so I’m just gonna say we can beat their asses, play as if you mean it or I will pull you off and most of all: don’t give up.”

“Let’s go!” Victoria shouted when the starting line up - the old Foxes - walked on court.

Neil started with Kevin on the striker line, Dan as their dealer, Matt and Aaron as defense and Renee on goal. He was happy to be back, grinning ear to ear while he jogged to his position.

Toss up was in favor of the Longhorns, who got to start the game. And they started dirty.

Before Neil knew it, one of the Longhorns had been sent of court with a red card. His mark was sneering at him the whole time too, talking smack about his family and trying to make Neil mad, but he was too focused on playing as if this were his last game - which could very much be true. When Wymack traded Kevin for Victoria though, things got interesting.

As Neil had predicted, Victoria took the game very serious, even though she hadn’t been able to score yet. She fought for the ball, passed it strategically to him and Dan and kept her own mark in check.

Four minutes before halftime, the score was 4-3, Foxes favor. And then, Victoria did something interesting.

Neil was trying to get past his mark to make sure she could pass the ball over to him, but his mark had been replaced by a much fitter one, making it harder to dodge her. Dan was struggling too, which meant Victoria had to pass it to the defense if she was out of steps, or try to rebound, which was impossible because of her own mark. 

But when she reached her eighth step, Neil saw her smile deviously. 

Her mark stepped in front of her to intercept the ball, but Victoria had other plans.

She threw the ball to the roof, ducked under her mark’s arm and caught the ball again after it hit the roof and rebounded back to the ground. She ran up to the goal, stepped to the left and threw the ball.

The goalie - like all the other players watching - thought she was throwing it to the left, but she made the ball leave her racquet on the right while she moved, making the ball hit the goal right behind the goalie’s back. The goal lit up red.

The whole court was silent for a while. Then people started to scream.

The Foxes were cheering, the Longhorns shouting profanities and telling the referees Victoria didn’t follow the rules and the fans screaming both things.

Dan flung herself around Victoria’s neck, cheering and laughing, while the buzzer that marked halftime sound through the court.

If Neil hadn’t seen it for himself, he wouldn’t have believed what had just happened. He hadn’t heard of rebounding the ball using the roof of the court.

The referees told the Longhorns Victoria’s point was according to the rules, which didn’t say you couldn’t use the roof for rebounds, making the halftime score 5-3, Foxes favor.

“Neil!” Victoria ran towards him, grinning ear to ear. “I scored! Did you see that? It was awesome!”

Neil smiled and pat her on her helmet. “I saw. It was incredible. How did you even think of that?”

She grinned mischievously. “I thought: what would no-one expect me to do? And then I did just that. Though I have to say it wasn’t the craziest thing my mind came up with.”

Neil laughed. Victoria laughed with him, and together they went to the other Foxes to catch their breaths before the game continued.

\-----

Victoria didn’t play for the rest of the game, but the Foxes were stoked with their freshman scoring on her first match, which meant they had to make sure they won the game to honor that. They won 9-6, which sent Victoria cheering to the court to celebrate with the others.

She loved Exy, and the only reason she had was that she loved outwitting her opponent, catching them by surprise. The look they always had on their faces was priceless.

When they were done shaking hands and changing clothes, Dan proposed to party in the girl’s room or the basement if many people would participated. 

All of the Foxes were up for it, even Victoria, but then her phone rang.

Curious she fished it out of her pocket. There was no name on the screen. Only a number. She immediately knew who it was.

“I’m coming later, okay?” Before Dan could answer, Victoria walked away and picked up, making sure no-one was near to hear her.

“Hello?”

“Victoria,” Father said, his voice raspy as always. 

“Did you watch the game?”

“I did,” Father answered in German, before switching to Russian. “You seem close to Nathaniel. How is the mission going?”

“Good.” Victoria refused to answer in Russian, so she kept talking English. “I have gained their trust.”

“Talk in your native language Victoria, do your father proud.”

Victoria swallowed a sarcastic response. “I have gained their trust,” she repeated, in Russian this time.

“Good. How is Nathaniel?”

“He’s fine, for now.”

“Your brother will text you when we engage in our next step.”

“Yes Father.”

“Make sure they get to the finals.”

“Yes Father.”

Father hung up and left Victoria alone, with her phone on her ear. 

She was shaking, head to toes. Her breath was erratic, her ears were ringing and her vision was blacking out, but she only allowed herself to be in this state for a few minutes before closing her eyes and forcing the panic back in and straightening her back.

She walked over to the other Foxes, sending a single text to her brother.

‘The game is on.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! THEY ACTUALLY PLAYED EXY!


	10. Chapter 10

Andrew walked into Victoria when he was walking back to Fox Tower. She looked like she hadn’t slept much. Probably stayed up late partying.

“Hey Andy,” she greeted him.

“What did I say about the nickname Vicky?”

“You’ll kill me if I used it again. Which would be way better than this killer headache.”

“Drank too much?”

“No. Slept too little.”

Andrew tsk-ed. “Idiot.”

“I thought you reserved that nickname for Neil,” Victoria responded.

“I reserve it for no-one.”

“Neil used to be a no-one.”

Neil used to say something similar. That he was nothing. Andrew wanted nothing. It all came full circle.

Victoria said goodbye when she turned left to her room. Andrew didn’t respond and instead looked at Aaron, who looked a little pissed and clenched a piece of paper.

“What’s that?” Andrew asked, curious but indifferent.

“Something stupid. Kevin has my books and I can’t get in.”

“That sucks.” Andrew opened the door, but didn’t close it behind him.

Aaron followed, got what he came for and stomped off, probably to put his books back and go sulk at that witch’s place.

Whatever. His problems now. 

\-----

Aaron should have known Kevin wouldn’t give his books back if he didn’t ask for them. Kevin barely cared about anything else but history and Exy. Bringing Aaron’s books back was not high on his priority-list.

So naturally Aaron had to come get them. He crossed over, but before he could knock, he stopped.

Someone had taped a paper on Kevin and Andrew and Neil’s room. 

‘You’re final days are accounted for Wesninski’, it said.

Aaron scoffed. How mature. Someone clearly thought they could prank Neil and the other Foxes by ‘threatening' him.

He removed it and stuffed it in his fist, angry with whoever thought that was funny. 

Flashbacks of Baltimore came to his mind. Andrew’s desperation. Neil’s wounds and story. The FBI asking them questions. The riot that had been set up.

Before he could get lost in his thoughts, he heard people coming his way.

Victoria and Andrew stepped into the hallway. Victoria turned to her own room and Andrew walked over to him, bored as always. It made Aaron even more frustrated.

“What’s that?” Andrew asked.

“Something stupid. Kevin has my books and I can’t get in.” Aaron did not feel like explaining. Maybe it was better if Andrew or anyone didn’t know about it. That would mean the prank failed. 

“That sucks.” Andrew opened the door, but didn’t close it behind him.

Aaron followed, got his books and walked back out. He put his books away and messaged Katelyn he wanted to meet for some coffee.

He really needed some distraction.

\-----

The next day, Aaron woke up to a scream.

Matt got up grumbling, since it had been Dan that had screamed. He went to their door and Aaron turned around once, hoping he could get a few more minutes of sleep.

But when he heard Matt cursing, his curiosity got the better of him and he got up, followed by a murmuring Nicky.

Aaron smelled it before he even got there to see it. And it smelled horrible.

Dan had woken up the others too. Andrew and Neil stood in their doorway, Kevin in front of them, all a little taken back and staring at the dead fox lying in front of Aaron and Nicky and Matt’s door. Allison and Renee stood next to Dan, hands on their captain’s shoulders. Victoria was also there, but she seemed lost in her own thoughts staring at the dead animal. And the other freshmen were there too, muttering and staring and sleepy.

“Probably a prank,” Victoria then said, breaking the silence.

“It’s not a funny one,” Kevin grunted. 

“Of course not. But not all people share your sense of humor Day.”

Kevin shot her an annoyed look, which Victoria ignored. She looked at Andrew and Neil, who were still staring at the fox.

Aaron glanced between them, trying to figure out what they were thinking. He couldn’t figure it out, but he decided not to be bummed out by it.

He had a bigger problem.

The first thought Aaron had, was that it had to be a prank, but a dead fox? It seemed specific. And the day before he had found a note, addressed to Neil. If it was all part of one big prank, why didn’t they leave the fox on their doorstep? 

No, Aaron knew almost for certain this couldn’t be a prank. This meant something.

He glanced at Neil again, who stood behind Andrew looking a little confused and pale. Pale. As if he was shocked. Shocked, maybe even a little frightened. In a fight or flight state of mind, in which he usually choose flight. 

You could of course write it off to Neil having some kind of flashback to his horrendous past and all, but that wouldn't explain why both Andrew and Victoria had tensed up. 

Aaron might not be the best in reading emotions since all he had to go on was a constantly drunk mother and a emotionless brother - unless he was high - but he could see how people tensed up, since it usually meant his mother was going to beat him again.

This dead fox meant something, and because Victoria had suggested it being a prank, it would probably not be a prank if they were still tense. A prank was harmless, meant to frighten once but not harm in a physical way. Not unless the pranksters were lunatics that is. Raven fans are a great example.

And judging from the note, Neil standing behind his brother and Victoria looking at the two of them, like she was trying to catch their eye... This had to be bigger than a simple prank. This had to do something with Neil again. Someone was out for him again, and judging from the dead fox, they wanted to kill him.

Gosh, it could never be over, could it? Neil had to have the attention of some crazy lunatic and be in danger and bringing all of them in danger again. 

“I guess we should call Wymack,” Victoria suggested. “Tell him someone pranked us and we have a dead fox lying in the hallway.”

“Yeah,” Dan said. “I’ll go make that call.”

She disappeared in her own room, followed by Matt and Renee and Allison, leaving only Aaron, Andrew, Neil, Kevin, Nicky, Victoria and the other freshmen there. 

Aaron studied Victoria. She didn’t seem upset. It was more like she was puzzled by it, confused. 

She had to have something to do with Neil being threatened. The pieces fit together perfectly. Andrew’s reaction and her quick counter reaction the first day they met, Andrew being the first to ‘warm up’ to the petite blonde, him bringing her to Colombia and despite doing that every time he brought someone new not drugging her… It made sense she was tied into this, especially since she apparently knew Neil in the time he and his mom were on the run.

Aaron growled and stomped back into the room. He really didn’t want to deal with this right now.

But before he climbed back into his bed, he realized something.

Aaron had been the one to find the note and remove it, which meant Neil and Andrew and the others probably hadn’t seen the message on it. And the fox lay before his room.

This might all revolve around Neil, but somehow, probably by removing the note, Aaron had caught the attention of the person who was trying to get to Neil. And he had been warned not to get too involved. That was what the dead fox had to mean. Or is he reading too much crime novels again and overthinking the whole situation? 

Shaking, Aaron called Katelyn.

“Hey sweetie,” she said when she picked up. “Had another nightmare?”

“There was a dead fox on the doorstep,” Aaron said breathlessly.

Katelyn didn’t respond for a while. “A dead fox? Why?”

“I don’t know,” Aaron lied, not wanting to involve her, even though his heart screamed out he had to tell someone. “Probably some stupid prank, but it reeks and I am pissed at whoever put it there.”

“No kidding.”

“Do you want to grab a coffee before class? I don’t think practice will continue with all of us in a shock and possibly having to explain this to the security.”

“Sure! Just text me when you’re ready, okay?” 

Aaron almost heard Katelyn’s smile, which was nice and eased his heart a little.

Still, when he hung up and went to the bathroom to change, he knew this wasn’t over yet.

Maybe he should talk to Andrew, ask him to help him. If Andrew could help that is. Aaron had no clue as to who this new ‘opponent’ could be.

So maybe, he had to find out himself. Which would be stupid considering he had just been threatened with a dead fox on his doorstep.

Aaron grunted and resisted the urge to kick the sink. How was he supposed to do this? What was he supposed to do? Lay low? Find out? Ignore the threat? 

Andrew probably knew. He should definitely talk to Andrew about it. But what if that would bring his brother in danger?

Was it really a prank? Did the dead fox mean something? Was he overthinking it? Attaching conclusions to things that didn't even make sense? Thinking too quickly? Heading in the right direction? Drawing the wrong conclusions? 

Aaron felt panic well up. He didn’t know. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to react. It was almost… almost like…

Baltimore, with Andrew in a panic because Neil was gone. Drake, when Andrew was lying on that bed and Aaron had a racket and acted before he even thought of acting. His mother, when Andrew came home bringing the news she was dead and locked him up in the bathroom. 

He closed his eyes. Should he tell Andrew? Or is he thinking this way to far? Maybe it all is a prank, they just turned to all of the foxes instead of just one, which is why there was a dead fox on his doorstep.

Aaron finished up and texted Katelyn he was on his way. Maybe the coffee and being with Katelyn would help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOOO! Finally we're at THIS part! The game is on, the stakes are raised and a new player enters: Aaron.  
> MuHahhahahahaha (starts coughing, drinks some water, coughs more)  
> Okay. Other interesting thing.  
> I know the picture in the link below is supposed to be a 'clean' version of Lockwood&Co's Florence Bonnard (another amazing series I can recommend, if you love ghost-stories, detectives and a bunch of teenagers being better than the government that is) but this artwork reminds me SO FRICKING MUCH of how I picture Victoria Audrey Mattner, so I wanted to share that with you, if you're curious.  
> [ Victoria Audrey Mattner's look-a-like Florence Bonnard ](https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/320388960990979371/)


	11. Chapter 11

Andrew did not understand it. The fox laid in front of Aaron and Nicky and Matt’s door, not theirs. It could be a prank of course, but Victoria had told him they should bear in mind her father could ask one of the assassins to do something just like this. To send them a message. Neil’s life was still on the line, so they should react to this as if it were a threat instead of a prank.

But that’s what almost made Andrew frown. If it were a prank, it would make sense they’d just drop it in front of a random door. But if they had to deal with it as if it weren’t, what was it doing in front of Aaron, Nicky and Matt’s room? Why was it there and not in front of his own room, where Neil was sleeping.

Victoria had two explanations. One: they had started threatening the Foxes sooner than she had anticipated, which was unlikely, since her father was a predictable men. Two: they had mistaken the room. It was across the hall after all. In the thrill of the moment, they could have misplaced it.

Victoria believed the latter, Neil said he was inclined to believe her but also thought maybe the assassins her father had send could be unpredictable and act on their own, hence threatening the Foxes sooner than anticipated. Andrew was inclined to believe the first explanation, not only because yes, the assassins were unpredictable, but also because he thought assassins were better prepared to make mistakes. They were professionals. Mistake was not a word appearing in their dictionary.

But if it wasn’t a mistake and the fox was supposed to lay where it was, why there? Were they threatening Neil by threatening Matt? Or Andrew by threatening Aaron or Nicky? Was this threat not directed at Neil? That could also be a possibility of course.

“Andrew.”

Neil’s voice made Andrew look up. The redhead was looking through their fridge and frowned. 

“Andrew?”

“Hm,” Andrew hummed, realizing Neil wanted to know whether or not he was listening.

“Where is the smoothie me and Kevin had made?”

“Dunno.”

Neil shot him a disapproving look. “You do.”

“No.”

“What have you done to it?”

“I threw it away. It smelled awful, so I figured it was moldy. Sorry for saving your lives.”

Neil rolled his eyes. “Why didn’t you say so? And you do know where it is!”

“I know where it was. After the trash was taken out I lost contact. Did you want me to put some tracker on it?”

“Ha ha.” Neil grabbed something else to drink and grabbed some kind of healthy fruit bar Kevin wanted him to try.

Maybe Andrew should put a tracker on Neil. That could be helpful. He should discuss it with Victoria.

“Andrew?” Neil pointed to the spot next to him on the sofa. “Yes or no?”

“Yes.”

Neil sat next to him, legs touching, and ate his bar. They sat in silence for some time, both not feeling the need to speak. Andrew got lost in his thoughts and Neil munching on that bar, which was kind of pissing him off.

When Neil had finished, he closed his eyes, enjoying the afternoon sun, which made his auburn hair set on fire and his face look even more beautiful.

Damn Neil and his ability to make Andrew’s insides melt. Damn those auburn locks, that face and those mesmerizing blue eyes.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked.

Neil opened his eyes and looked at him. “Yes.”

Andrew turned around and put his head on Neil’s legs, closing his eyes. He could almost hear the idiot smile.

“Yes or no?” Neil asked in return.

“Yes.”

Neil kissed Andrew on his forehead and then proceeded to ran his fingers through Andrew’s hair. It made Andrew feel… 

Comfortable. Maybe even happy. He felt like if he were a cat, he would definitely have been purring by now.

Neil continued to stroke Andrew, making Andrew feel more and more at ease and slip away in a peaceful nap.

\-----

Victoria was surprised to see Kevin open the door. Normally Andrew would have come to look who was at their door.

“Hi Kev,” she greeted him cheerfully. “Where ar-”

Kevin put his finger on his lips. “Ssh, they’re asleep on the couch, and Andrew will most definitely kill you if you wake them.”

Victoria almost frowned. Then she smiled deviously and slipped past the silently protesting striker.

It was way too adorable. Andrew had put his head on Neil’s lap, lying sideways not, facing the TV. Neil had his hand tangled in Andrew’s hair and his head slightly tilted toward the armrest. And with the afternoon sun it was almost like they were painted that way. And they looked adorable. Of course she had to take some pictures.

Fortunately, her phone did so silently. And because Victoria had been trained to be light and quick on her feet, she could step close, feeling like a ninja.

“Andrew’s going to kill you.” Kevin commented when he saw what she was doing.

Victoria shrugged. She didn’t speak until she was next to him, knowing she would wake them if she had spoken in front of them.

“Let him try,” she said. “I’m sure he will fail too.”

Kevin didn’t pick up on her statement for as long as it took Victoria to leave again and unlock her own door.

“What do you mean ‘too’?” He asked.

“Exactly what I said.” Victoria smiled sweetly. “Exactly what I said.”

She left him alone in the hallway and closed the door behind her. Well, that was fun.

After ‘flopping on her own sofa, she texted the pictures to Allison and Nicky, who both reacted the same: HOW ADORABLE BUT HOW DID YOU GET THAT WITHOUT ANDREW WAKING UP TO KILL YOU?!

She merely sent them a smiley and texted William. ‘You awake?’

It took him five minutes to reply. ‘Yes’

Victoria put up her laptop and some minutes later she was facing her boyfriend via Skype. He smiled a little tired.

“Did I wake you up?” She asked. “I have no idea what time it is at your place.”

“Around ten o'clock, so you didn’t wake me up.” William grinned. “Just had a rough day.”

“Oh? Were they hard on you?” 

“My teachers are monsters, thinking I can do all of this homework, learn for the finals and have a normal life because ‘it is important to be doing other things than school’. Like they give me any room to do so.”

Victoria looked at him sympathetic. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Thank you, but finals is nothing to sneeze at. How are things in America?”

“Good, I guess. Someone threatened Nat by putting a dead fox in the hallway.”

William frowned. “That’s kind of direct. Do you have a clue who did this?”

“Of course I do.” Victoria smiled deviously. “I already have a name and a date to strike her down.”

“A female assassin? Awesome.”

She looked sullen. “Do I have competition?”

“Nooooooo.” William hugged his laptop and pouted. “No. Absolutely not. I just thought, finally some female repre-reps-repe-peh.” He stumbled, going red.

Victoria laughed, long and hard. William could speak English well, but he still stumbled and had a hard time pronouncing some words, which Victoria found hilarious.

“I’m just going to speak Dutch now,” William announced, smiling fondly. “As I was saying: finally some female representation in that line of work.”

“There are plenty female assassin,” Victoria replied in Dutch. “They’re just hard to catch. I know plenty of female assassins.”

“Yeah, of course you do,” William said smiling.

When they first met, William didn’t know, just like all of the others who weren’t her family or employed by her family, she was the daughter of a mob-boss. When they started dating though, she had asked her mother whether or not she had to tell him, and her mother had said: ‘Listen to your heart buttercup. If he’s the one you want to go steady with, he deserves to know where you come from. But you have to feel comfortable telling him. Otherwise: don’t.’

She did tell him though. William was surprised, shocked. But after some time thinking it over, he told her it didn’t matter to him, for he loved her for who she was and nothing less. Victoria only told her mother William knew and still wanted to commit, which had made her mother incredibly happy. 

She insisted on meeting him, and when they did, her mother cried and thanked him and told him not to worry and said she was happy for us. William smiled too and joked: ‘So that means I have your blessing then?’

That had made Victoria’s mother laugh, and when they had been dating for half a year and they were still going strong, she told her brother, who told Father.

Father was a little sullen, but accepted it nonetheless, probably thinking William and her would eventually break up anyways. The first time they did, Father had actually smiled and patted her on her shoulder, but his joy only lasted a day, for the next she and William were back together again.

Victoria hadn’t told anyone William knew about her family, and told him not to say anything either, until her mother had died. 

The doctor said it was failing of her heart. Her brother said it was Father who poisoned her for making plans to run away with Victoria and him. Victoria didn’t care at first and simply cried for three hours straight, until Father had enough of it and beat all the tears out of her body.

“Tory?” William’s voice drew her back to the present and she blinked a few times.

William looked concerned, brown eyes squinted together and forehead a little furrowed. It looked adorable, especially since he always tilted his head when he was concerned or confused. It made Victoria smile.

“I love you,” she whispered.

William smiled back. “Love you too. Are you okay?”

Victoria considered lying, but quickly abandoned that idea. This was William. Not only could he see right through her, she also knew she could tell him literally everything.

“Not really.” She played with the hems of her shirt. “It’s all happening so fast. On schedule, but still: fast.”

“I know. That’s what happens when you’re having fun.” 

Victoria rolled with her eyes. “Right. ‘Fun’.”

“Admit it. You like this kick.” William waved his finger in front of the camera as if he stroked her nose. “You like the thrill of this plan, the thrill of doing something dangerous and potentially life-threatening.”

It was true. Victoria liked doing this. Seeing her plan unfold and take her position. ‘Playing’ with Father. But it was not like she was going to admit that out loud.

William laughed at the pouty face she made, and somehow Victoria felt like she could take the whole world. Like it would be easy to take Father down. 

Someone knocked on her door while William yawned.

“I think I’m going to sleep,” he said.

“Okay. Sleep well.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too.”

William ended the call, allowing Victoria to close her laptop and see who was at her door.

It was Allison, picking her up to go to Betsy. They were the first to go, right when practice was supposed to start.

“Ready?” She asked.

Victoria smiled. “Ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoooo! Some cuteness and FINALLY William makes an appearance!   
> I might not be able to upload tomorrow, since I will probably be gone for the entire day. Also: my parent's vacation begins then, which means I might not be able to upload every day since we'll probably go on vacation or on day trips. I have no clue. Also: I am still looking for a room since I'm going to the university next year, so I will also have to look into that some more and make preparations. The vacation i had after my finals is kinda over, and now it's time for summer vacation, with family time, moving out and less time to write.  
> DON'T WORRY THOUGH! I WILL NOT ABANDON THIS WORK!   
> It will only take some more time to reply or approve of comments and post new chapters.  
> Lots of Love <3


	12. Chapter 12

Betsy was a stout woman with pale brown hair and brown eyes and glasses. And a sharp mind.

Victoria got why Andrew semi-liked her. She was not easily impressed, or so it seemed.

Allison had gone first, giving Victoria the opportunity to think about what she was going to say and how she was going to say it.

When it was her turn, Allison wished her luck. Victoria merely smiled. She didn’t need luck.

“Hello.” Betsy gave her a firm handshake, which was considered a good trait by Father. “I’m Betsy Dobson. Call me Betsy, Bee, Dobson, doctor Dobson, anything you feel comfortable with.”

“Then call me whatever you feel comfortable with Bee,” Victoria said smiling. “It’s better if we both feel at ease, is it not?”

“If that’s what you like, I’ll call you Victoria.” Betsy smiled. “This first appointment is to get to know each other. So, let’s start with: how were your first days here?”

“Great.” Victoria leaned back and made herself comfortable. “The first day was most interesting, since I got to know the team. And I threw a knife at Andrew.”

“Yes, I heard. You say it with pride.”

“That’s because I am proud of it,” Victoria said. “Everyone thinks he’s scary and unstoppable because he does not care about anything and is great with his knives, but I know everyone has someone who’s better, and I think I’m better than Andrew is, though you could say my upbringing is to blame for that.”

“You don’t say.” Betsy’s smile didn’t falter. It was quite impressive, but Victoria did not dwell on it for too long.

“Yes. I was a streetfighter, you see? I learned the skills necessary to kill my opponent and strike when he’s weak. Andrew learned how to defend himself, I don’t think he’s a killer.”

“No?”

“He might have killed his own mother, but he killed her because he wanted to protect his brother,” Victoria saw Betsy’s eyes go from upbeat and interested to a little gloomy but intrigued. “I killed because I liked it.”

“I didn’t know streetfights involved killing the opponent.”

“They usually don’t, but there are occasions where the strongest fighters challenge each other to a fight to death. They draw different crowds and are held in different places, places so secret, you can only gain access if you happen to know about these fights, which means you’re a fighter yourself or you belong to the elite who enjoys seeing these death-matches.” Victoria inspected her nails. “I participated in at least four of those death-matches, and as you can see, I won them all.”

Betsy straightened her glasses and looked at her empty cup. “Could I interest you in some hot chocolate while we discuss you some more?”

“Yes please.” Victoria smiled eagerly. 

Betsy made them some and sat down again, folding her hands around the cup. “So. Streetfights.”

“Yep.”

“You enjoyed them.”

“If you think I’m a psychopath or maybe even sociopath, I have to disappoint you.” Victoria’s smile darkened. “I’m just a lunatic who grew up in the wrong place.”

“But that’s okay.” Betsy smiled at her. “Andrew seems to like you. And Allison does too. So I guess you’ll be fine, even if you think you’re a lunatic.”

“Oh, but I’m a high-functioning lunatic.” She kicked her legs over the armrest of her chair and sipped her hot chocolate. “Did you know peanut butter is called ‘pindakaas’ in the Netherlands? It translates to ‘peanut cheese’, which is weird, but apparently ‘butter’ was a term reserved for buttercream in the Netherlands, which meant they couldn’t call peanut butter peanut butter, for it was no ‘real’ butter. So they called it peanut cheese.”

Betsy’s confusion didn’t last long. “That’s an interesting fact. Do you like literature and word origins?”

“No, but I have a boyfriend who is from the Netherlands and when I asked him why they called it peanut cheese, we did some research and found this. The word originates from Suriname.”

“Interesting. Tell me more about your boyfriend.”

“His name is William and he’s literally the sweetest. I love him very much and would probably walk over lava to help him, but since you can’t walk over lava, I might have to replace that with Lego, since they hurt too when you walk over them barefoot.”

“From lava to Lego,” Betsy grinned. “I’m happy you have found someone to be happy with.”

“Me too. We met after I had a rough time in my life, though I do have to admit it wasn’t the darkest time in my life.” Victoria was silent for some time. “After Neil - still Nathaniel back then - left, I was very lonely. We were almost inseparable, like brother and sister, attached to the hip. It was necessary to survive a rough household, but that’s not the point. When he was gone, I didn’t know what to do and kind of stumbled around day to day, like I was in a dream. I had just started to make other friends and tried to keep them far away and close at the same time, so when we met I was a little better, but still struggling with life. And he still loved me. He loved me ever since, through hardship and pain and the brighter moments.”

Betsy smiled. “That’s lovely.”

Victoria nodded. “I love him very much, but even his presence and love weren’t enough when my mother had died. The only thing keeping me alive was my brother, who kept pushing me to my limits, crossing them time and again. William was trying to be helpful, but he didn’t understand what I needed: someone to tell me-”

She broke off mid-sentence. Betsy waited patiently.

“Sometimes I have nightmares about my mother,” she continued. “Nightmares where I hear her voice, but everything around me is dark and I don’t know if I’m moving or standing still, frozen and screaming my mother’s name while she fades away.”

“Hm. And how do you feel during those nightmares?”

“Lost.” Victoria took another sip of her chocolate drink. “Alone. Left alone even.”

“And do you have more nightmares about that time?”

Victoria laughed, hollow and empty. “Lots more, but I thought this was to get to know each other? It’s not ‘examine Victoria’s mind’-time yet Bee.”

Betsy nodded. “It’s alright if you don’t want to talk about it. Do you have anything else you want to share with me now?”

Victoria pretended to think. “Yes. What’s your biggest fear?”

Betsy blinked a few times. “My… biggest fear?”

“Yes. Get to know goes both ways Bee. You get to know me, I get to know you.”

Victoria watched her in the silence that followed. It was always fun to turn the tables and be unpredictable.

“I guess my biggest fear is being locked up somewhere small, since I am claustrophobic.”

Victoria watched her for a few more seconds. “And how do you feel about pathological liars?”

It took some time to come through. Betsy frowned a little.

“Is that a reference to yourself or a serious question.”

Victoria merely smiled, as if she was enjoying this enormously. 

Betsy studied her for some time. “I think pathological liars should be helped, but not because they always lie. I believe they should be helped because they are broken somehow, and the world does not seem to be able to accept the broken.”

“The people in it cannot indeed,” Victoria admitted. “Did you know the people in ancient Japan used gold to repair broken bowls for example? The philosophy behind it is that each pottery item has an unique history that should be shown by emphasizing their breaks and fractures instead of hiding or disguising those. It’s called Kintsugi.”

“I’ve heard of that. Do you think that applies to what we were discussing earlier?”

Victoria laughed again. “No. The world does not work that way.”

“Do you think it should?”

Victoria pretended to think again. “No. I think it’s way too optimistic to think the world should work like that. The world shouldn’t work like anything. It’s the people who inhabit it who should have a certain mindset.”

“And what would that mindset be?”

They locked eyes. Victoria gazed in those warm, soft, brown eyes while returning the gaze with an icy one.

“Don’t depend much on other people. Even your own shadow leaves you when it’s dark, so it’s better to learn to survive on your own and learn to appreciate said darkness.” This was so ironic. “And the next quote I think fits is from Terence Mckenna: ‘If you don’t have a plan, you become part of someone else’s plan’, which suits because many people live their day to day lives without thinking or planning ahead, and therefore become a part of someone else’s plan. Puppets for someone else to play with.”

“That’s quite pessimistic,” Betsy told her softly.

Victoria grinned. “Pessimistic? I prefer to think realistic. Because if you think about it, you will find you cannot disprove anything I have said.” She got up, drank the last bit of her hot chocolate and smiled sweetly. “I loved talking to you Bee! And thanks for the delicious hot chocolate!”

She walked away, leaving Betsy behind.

Betsy started saying something, but Victoria had already left the room and closed the door, happy with how the conversation had gone.

Allison was waiting for her and they got to practice together, chatting away in the car.

“So, how was you first time with Betsy?” Allison asked when they arrived at the court.

Victoria beamed. “Awesome. I learned a lot of new things, and Bee is really nice.”

“Good. Happy to hear.” Allison gave her a quick side-hug before she went to change to go to Renee on the court.

Victoria was left alone in the girl’s locker room, smiling deviously.

Pathological liar. Pessimist. Streetfighter. Nightmares about mother. It was up to Betsy now to see which ones are true and which ones are not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? Which ones do you think are true about Victoria?
> 
> Thanks for reading and see you next time (whenever that may be)!  
> Lots of love <3


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for some blood.

Back in practice, Victoria was up to her usual tricks: irritating Kevin by only doing things her way, chatting with Nicky and snarking back and forth with Andrew and Neil.

Neil tried to get her to participate seriously, pleading her to use her spirit, to which Victoria said she wasn’t planning on dying that soon and ignored the rest of his comments.

One thing she did notice, was Aaron. Before, he always kind of ignored her, like he did with the rest of the team but especially the freshmen. But now, all he could do was stare, it seemed. Victoria wondered what was going on in his head.

“Victoria Audrey Mattner!” Wymack bellowed when she let the ball pass again because she was busy texting William how bored she was. “Will you at least try to participate in practice?”

“I don’t know coach,” she said. “I had a rough conversation with Betsy, and it still weighs me down.”

“You seemed awful cheery for someone who just had a rough conversation.”

“Maybe I hide behind my smiles. Cover up my tears and broken heart behind my laughs and smiles. Who knows?”

Wymack stared her down. “If you need to go off court, tell me. Otherwise, do not jeopardize practice.”

“Yes coach!” She put her phone away and grabbed her racquet. 

After some time, they decided to do some practice games. Victoria was on Neil’s team, with Renee, Dan and a few freshmen. Their opponents were Kevin, Aaron, Nicky, Allison and the other freshmen. Andrew and Matt were at Betsy’s, as the last duo.

Victoria didn’t score at all, but she did enjoy the match. The others did too, since none of them -- except for Kevin and Neil, but when it comes to Exy, they’re always serious -- took it seriously. 

Wymack let it be. It was the end of practice, which meant they were exhausted or at least tired and ready to go to their dorm and rest up. Besides, a little fun never hurt.

Victoria snatched the ball from Allison and ran towards the goal the freshmen goalie Felicia was guarding. Nicky came running towards her, so she knew she couldn’t get to the goal in one sprint. Neil could probably, but Victoria wasn’t as fast as he was.

Anyway, Nicky was on his way to her, grinning. Neil was on her other side, but what was the fun handing him the ball and not trying to score herself? It was a practice match after all. No stakes, so she could do whatever she wanted.

Victoria threw the ball to the wall, to make it rebound while she passed Nicky by ducking under his stick. 

It was a brilliant and Victoria-worthy plan, unpredictable and clever, but one thing she miscalculated, was where Nicky would put his racquet.

And unfortunately for her, he was reaching for the ball, so her face instantly clashed with Nicky’s stick while she tried to pass him. Victoria hit the ground before she even registered what had happened.

All of the sudden people were shouting, Nicky was in her field of vision but blurry and Victoria felt a lot of agony in and around her nose.

“Victoria? Oh my God, are you okay? I’m so, so sorry,” Nicky said.

Victoria recognized the blurry vision was caused by the tears in her eyes, caused by being hit on her nose. It was hilarious.

When Neil reached Victoria, she had started laughing uncontrollably, which made everyone freeze in their spot. 

Victoria laughed and laughed, while blood gushed out of her nose, which was starting to become blue, but didn’t seem to be broken. It almost seemed hysterical.

Dan had done the smart thing and got Abby, so she wasn’t there when Victoria started laughing. When she came and brought Abby with her firsts aid kit and they heard Victoria laughing, she didn’t know what to do or think.

Abby rushed over, ushering a still apologizing Nicky out of her way to examine the damage. 

It wasn’t bad, but Victoria was still laughing.

She stopped when Abby pinched her nose to check if it were broken, but still giggled when Abby gave her some tissues to stop the bleeding.

“You’re lucky it isn’t broken,” she told the girl.

Victoria grinned, which must have hurt since she winced a little. “Oh but Abby, this is far from the worst injury I have ever had. Did I ever tell you about the time I got kidnapped as a five-year-old? This is nothing compared to that.”

“Sweetie…” Abby fell silent, not knowing what or how to say it.

Neil sighed silently. He knew what she was talking about. He felt compelled to tell her she shouldn’t compare it to those times, but he knew he kind of did the same. Being tortured and almost killed made a broken nose look like it’s nothing, especially if it didn’t leave a scar to remind you of it.

“That doesn’t mean it’s okay!” Nicky yelled. “Oh, I’m so so sorry Victoria.”

Victoria only stared. Then she smiled deviously. 

“I will forgive you if you bring me jelly beans.”

“Done!” Nicky looked relieved.

Neil glared at Victoria, who smiled sweetly. He rolled with his eyes.

“Hm,” Victoria hummed. “I’m a dragon.”

No-one understood. They all frowned, looking at her funny.

“Every time I breathe through my nose, it feels like I’m breathing fire. Dragons breath fire, therefore I’m a dragon.” Victoria sat up, blinked a few times and then grinned. 

“I guess that makes sense,” Renee said, sweet as ever.

“Of course it does.” Victoria looked at the bloody tissues. 

Abby merely shook her head. The bleeding had stopped, but Victoria’s nose would definitely bruise, which would take a few days to recover. And it would make her nose vulnerable.

“Can I ask why you weren’t wearing your helmet?” Abby asked Victoria.

“Practice match,” she chirped. “I didn’t think it would be necessary. That and I kind of forgot it in the locker room and was too lazy to get it.”

“Well, here’s the reason you better wear it every match, even if it’s just a practice match. Same goes for the rest of you.” Abby eyed the other Foxes. “Even if it’s just practice. It could go wrong and injure someone permanently. So wear your helmet. Got it?”

“Yes Abby!” The Foxes said simultaneously.

Matt and Andrew just arrived when they did. Matt frowned and Andrew looked at Neil for answers.

“We have to wear our helmets at practice because Abby says so,” Victoria clued them in. “How were your sessions with Betsy?”

“Why is your nose blue and purple?” Matt asked. 

“I ran into Nicky’s stick. Forbidden love I guess, since it only left me bruised and bleeding.”

One of the freshmen snickered, Lila, Victoria thought.

Matt looked close to both crying and laughing, two emotions who couldn’t be more apart but Victoria couldn’t read his face very clear, since he was both too far away and held a hand on his mouth. Andrew looked unimpressed as always, probably wanting this to be over so he and Neil could escape to the roof again.

Wymack dismissed them soon after, telling them to stop wasting his time and get their asses to the locker room already.

Victoria rode with Allison and Renee, who were too busy with each other to pay attention to Victoria, which meant she could read her brother’s text in silence.

‘Tomorrow, after practice.’

She deleted the message, put her phone away and stared to the outside world they were passing all the way to Fox Tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and see you next chapter! owo


	14. Chapter 14

Aaron did not remember how he ended up researching Victoria. It started with googling something for his classes, and somehow ended at the section with the old newspapers in the library. 

There was not much to find on the Mattners. Albert Joseph Mattner, head of the family and Victoria’s father, was a businessman with companies in Europe and Asia, who was trying to get foot in America. Her mother’s name was Penelope, and she died about two years ago. There was an obituary in one of the papers Aaron found, stating she used to be a nurse and a housewife and left two children and a husband behind. So Victoria had a sibling.

Victoria’s sibling was a mystery though. The only two mentions of him were in the obituary and a small article stating he would be the sole heir of Albert Mattner’s properties when Albert died. No name, only referred to as ‘child’ or ‘son’. So she had a brother, whose name Aaron still had to find.

He found it strange though. Victoria had referred to Neil as her brother, but they weren't related and only lived together for about a year. She never talked about her ‘real’ brother.  
Maybe there was more to it. He had to dig deeper.

So Aaron went to the computers and typed the name ‘Mattner’ in the search bar of Google. There were a lot of families with that name, so instead he searched ‘Albert Joseph Mattner’. There were less results now.

Aaron clicked on some sites, but they covered the articles he had already read: Victoria’s brother being the heir to the companies, her father being a wealthy businessman and her mother being dead.

But then Aaron found something interesting. One site covered something that looked like a conspiracy-theory, but it covered Albert Mattner instead of aliens or the government.

**‘Did Albert Mattner kill his own wife?’** was the title.

It covered how strange it seemed she died of some failure of the heart, but before there was nothing wrong with Penelope. The writer who started the article had done some research and found another doctor had actually also found something strange in her blood, but the leading doctor had already decided it had to be heart failure, so it was written off as heart failure. The writer also promised to come back to it after meeting with Albert Mattner himself, who he/she had contacted to discuss the matter. 

The writer did not come back to it. Better yet, when Aaron reached the name underneath the article -- River Becker -- he got another obituary, stating they died one week after meeting with Albert Mattner because of a heart attack. 

Aaron grew suspicious, just as the people commenting on the article who had found out the same. They all started theorizing how Albert could have done this; poison was a reoccurring way for Penelope and everyone seemed to agree it had to be a syringe filled with air between River’s toes, since that would mimic a heart attack and leave no evidence of murder. 

Aaron did not care how they had died, but the fact that they had died was enough for him to raise suspicion. Maybe he had to talk to Victoria sometime soon after all, asking her what the hell was going on.

But when he got up and closed all tabs on the computer, he saw someone had left his or her book on the table.

Irritated people did not clean up their own mess, he went to get it, but then he saw a note underneath it.

Curious, he grabbed it. His heart stopped almost immediately.

_‘Blood is red, bruises are blue. Aaron Michael Minyard, I will come for you.’_

It was not signed, the writing was cursive and neat, but looked like it was one of those Windows-fonts, so it could also be typed. 

He didn’t know what to do. Who should he tell? He had to tell someone.

“Oh, hey Aaron!” Victoria walked over to him. “Ah, you have my book. I forgot it when I was leaving.” She grinned.

Aaron froze. Absentmindedly he gave her the book while Victoria chatted away about something. He didn’t hear a thing and could only manage to stare at her.

“What’s wrong?” Victoria frowned.

Aaron snapped out of it and hissed: “Nothing! Here’s your stupid book! Don’t leave it again, it’s rude to make others clean up your mess!”

He stormed off. The feeling in his gut was anger of course, but for the first time in months he was afraid too. So what was he going to do? Talk to Andrew and tell him everything.

\-----

Andrew blew some smoke in Neil’s face. The other boy coughed and glared at him.

“You know I’m right. Just because you don’t like it, doesn’t mean you get to be petty about it!”

“I never said you were right.”

“You’re not denying it either.”

“I’m not doing anything. You’re the one blowing this out of proportions.”

Neil snorted. “You hate admitting I’m right.”

“I hate you.”

“So you admit I’m right?”

“I’m not doing anything.”

Neil groaned and lay flat. Andrew forced himself to look at his face instead of the muscles and scar tissue peeking from under Neil’s shirt, which was a tad bit too small.

Just when Neil wanted to say something else, Aaron stormed out of the door and onto the roof. He looked… distressed.

“Andrew, I have to talk to you,” he said, tone urgent.

“You’re already doing that, but I guess you have something you need off your chest.” Andrew felt a little irritated Aaron was interrupting his and Neil’s alone-time. 

“Can I speak to you in private?” Aaron’s eyes flashed to Neil. “It’s… personal.”

Andrew did not want to leave Neil alone under any circumstance now that there were people out there again who wanted to kill Neil. The only one he trusted in keeping Neil safe was himself, so he could not let Neil out of his sight for too long.

Which is why he flatly denied Aaron’s request to speak in private.

“Neil and I are like an open book to each other anyways,” he deadpanned. “So whatever you tell me, you tell him.”

Neil rolled his eyes and tried to kick Andrew, but Andrew merely shoved out of reach.

Aaron was silent for some time. Then he… got mad for some reason.

“Whatever!” he yelled. “You wouldn’t understand anyways! You cannot help me, since you’re too preoccupied with your boyfriend and have no time to help your family!”

Andrew felt the need to contradict Aaron on the ‘boyfriend’-part -- Neil was nothing and no-one to him, Neil was Andrew’s entire world and everything in it; he was the entire world and universe and nothing at the same time -- but Aaron kept on talking and fuming.

“I shouldn’t bring you into this mess anyways! Why would I? You’re buddy-buddy with Victoria anyways, and this entire problem starts with her!”

“I am not buddy-buddy with Vicky,” Andrew said. “She is merely a means to an end.”

“Well, Neil is!” Aaron turned away and slammed the door as he left.

Andrew had to admit he had never seen Aaron so… anxious and angry. Something was wrong, but if Aaron did not want to elaborate… Andrew couldn’t exactly force him to do so. Still, his instincts to protect what was his -- his family -- kicked in and screamed at him to follow Aaron and get him to speak.

“Andrew?” Neil was smiling when Andrew turned around. “You can go after him if you want.”

Andrew thought about it for a minute. Then he nodded, asked Neil for one last kiss and got off the roof, where he saw Victoria.

“Tonight,” she said, and then walked away.

This put Andrew at an impasse. He turned around again, only to find Neil already there, with determined, icy-blue eyes. Andrew felt himself slip away and drown in them, but Neil grounded him before he could fall.

“I’ll stay with the others and not go anywhere alone,” he promised.

Andrew nodded and went after his brother.

\-----

Victoria watched Andrew walk away, leaving Neil. This seemed out of character for him, which made Victoria frown.

“Where is he going?” she asked Neil, who went past her to join the others.

Neil shrugged. “After Aaron, who insisted to talk to Andrew and threw a fit when it couldn’t be in private.”

It made no sense for Aaron to react that way. Victoria’s frown got deeper and she thought for some time, but when she wanted to ask Neil when it had all happened, he had already disappeared.

Panicking, she went to the girl’s room, where they Foxes were setting up a movie-night. When she found Neil chatting with Matt and Allison there, she felt relieved, but still anxious.

Tonight there would be another attempt on Neil’s life, but this time, Victoria had to carry out her duty of killing said assassin and making sure it looked like an accident or some other gang’s fault, to ensure Father would remain oblivious for as long as possible, even though he was a smart man and would definitely get suspicious soon.

Neil laughed at something either Allison or Matt said, distracting Victoria from her thought-process.

She went to her own room instead, to call William while everyone else was busy doing something else. For now, everything was peaceful. For now, she didn’t have to worry.

For now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Drama!  
> Also, I learned how to use HTML properly! (Pats myself on the back)  
> That means I can actually use bold and cursive lettering and create links! YAY!  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. OwO


	15. Chapter 15

Aaron had texted Katelyn and asked her to grab a coffee with him. Even though he didn’t want to involve her, he needed someone to vent and calm him down. Katelyn was his best option for both.

But before he could reach the coffee-shop, someone caught his arm and pulled him with, pressing a cloth to his mouth.

Aaron screamed and struggled, but this person was skilled and somehow didn’t release him until the chloroform worked.

Aaron’s vision blacked out.

\-----

Andrew had no idea where his idiot brother was, but he did have a faint idea who might. 

Not desperate enough — or maybe just too stubborn — to call in that particular person, he got into his Maserati to search himself. 

Andrew searched and searched, but came up empty. He went to all the places he thought Aaron could have gone to and looked around, but his twin was nowhere in sight.

An unnerving feeling crept up in his gut, but he smoldered it. 

It almost worked. Almost.

Andrew was pulled out of his thoughts when he got a phone call from an unknown number. He dismissed it, but whoever was calling him was persistent.

Annoyed, Andrew picked up.

“Hello?” It was Aaron’s girlfriend. “Andrew?”

Andrew did not answer. He simply waited for her to spill why she was calling, even though he had a feeling he already knew.

“I’m sorry for calling you, but me and Aaron had agreed to grab a coffee and he hasn’t shown up yet, so I wondered if you knew where he was, since you’re his brother and Nicky didn’t seem to know and told me to call you, since Neil had said you went after him.”

“I don’t,” Andrew said, and he hung up.

Then he turned the Maserati around and raced to Fox Tower. Someone better start explaining as soon as he would enter.

\-----

Nicky was watching the movie and thinking how Erik might like this particular one — it was about two boys meeting on a vacation and falling in love, a movie the Foxes wouldn’t have been watching if not for Jack being homophobic and the others wanting to punish him — when Katelyn called back.

She had called him earlier to ask if he knew where Aaron was, since she and Aaron had a coffee date. Nicky told her no, but Neil, sitting close to Nicky, overheard and told Nicky Andrew had gone after Aaron when he had a tantrum on the roof, so Andrew might know.

Katelyn was not fond of having to call Andrew, but refused when Nicky offered to do it for her. 

“And?” He asked her.

“Andrew doesn’t know either.” Katelyn started to stress. “What if something has happened? What if he got hit by a car and is in the hospital, without anyone knowing? What if-”

“Nothing happened,” Nicky said, trying to reassure her. But deep inside, he got worried too.

“What’s wrong?” Dan had muted the TV and looked at Nicky, worried.

“Aaron is missing,” Nicky said, shielding his phone and Katelyn from hearing that statement. “Katelyn is distressed.”

“Give her to me,” Allison said, gesturing for Nicky’s phone. “I’ll calm her down.”

Nicky handed his phone over to her and accepted Matt’s pat on the back for support. 

The ‘what if’-questions were growing and making Nicky anxious, but he didn’t know how to stop them.

Victoria entered the room, after doing who-knew-what in her own and looked around until she found Neil, after which she flicked her gaze to the rest of the room.

“Did something happen?” she asked.

“Katelyn and Aaron were supposed to meet up but he didn’t show and we don’t know where he went,” Nicky summed up, fear flaring up in his stomach.

Victoria did not react verbally. She did seem to tense up; her eyes definitely got big. And that was when Andrew entered the room.

Nicky wanted to tell Andrew Aaron was probably alright, but before he could even think that was not necessary to tell Andrew, Andrew had found his target and stormed Victoria.

She ducked when he tried to grab her, but Andrew used that to his advantage to push her to the ground. Victoria did not seem to falter, and this was the first time the Foxes saw her fight.

Nicky did not know how to measure someone’s fighting-skills, but she did manage to prevent Andrew grabbing and strangling her, like he did with Kevin when Neil had disappeared and like he was trying to do now.

It ended with both of them bruised, although Victoria had a few slashes from when Andrew used his knives, and Victoria locking herself in the bedroom, where Andrew was pounding and kicking the door.

“Where is he?!” He shouted, as if Victoria knew somehow.

It didn’t make sense to Nicky, but since even Neil wasn’t able to calm Andrew down, he assumed this was about Aaron.

Neil was biting his lip after receiving a ‘no’ from Andrew when he asked ‘yes or no’, which made Nicky wonder what was going on and why Neil wasn’t persistent in protecting Victoria.

“I don’t know!” Victoria shouted. “Andrew, how am I supposed to know? I didn’t think this would happen already, if that’s the case!”

“‘If that’s the case’,” Andrew said mockingly. “Oh come on. You said you had planned everything for every possible situation.”

“Based on ONE person Andrew!” Victoria retorted. “I planned something like this would happen in the fifth or sixth month, not now!”

“Liar.” Andrew stopped pounding and leaned his head against the door. “Liar.”

Neil moved closer. “Andrew…”

“Not now.” 

Neil almost flinched. Nicky wanted to huff and tell Andrew to be a little nicer, but Andrew looked angry and stressed. And he hadn’t been this emotional since he got off his medication, which was a wonder of itself, if not unsettling. There was a long silence.

“Victoria.” Neil directed his gaze to the door. “Come out.”

Victoria didn’t answer.

“Vic…” Neil tried, but still, now answer.

Andrew tried the door, found it unlocked and rushed in. The others followed, only to see the room was empty. And the window open.

“Did she seriously went out the window?” Allison asked, walking over and gazing down. “It’s like, four stories? And no rope?”

Andrew cursed and kicked one of the beds, but this time his face was blank again.

“What’s going on?” Dan asked, on behalf of all of the Foxes.

Nicky searched both Neil and Andrew’s faces, but they didn’t show anything. 

Then Neil sighed. “A lot, but to summarize it: another family is gunning for my life.” He looked up. “Victoria’s father, to be exact.”

The other Foxes gasped and cursed. Nicky belonged to the first group.

“Not again,” Matt said. “I thought it was over.”

“Me too,” Neil admitted. “But apparently my mother and I were popular and made a lot of enemies while on the run, so I guess when you put it that way-”

“Don’t,” Andrew interrupted. “We have to follow her.”

“To where?”

No-one knew the answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More drama and angst! Whooooo!  
> This fic is longer than I expected it to become, actually. Hm. Welp.  
> Please do inform me if I used incorrect grammar or words or made typos. English is not my native language, but I'm trying my best and love to learn from my mistakes.  
> Lots Of Love and see you next time.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for torture and a slight mention of blood, nothing too graphic though. Tell me if I missed any trigger warnings!

Aaron woke up in a dark room, tied up to a chair with a few tie wraps on his wrists and ankles. He immediately knew he was in trouble, which didn’t help his fear at all. He tried to loosen the wraps, but to no avail.

“Ah, you woke up,” a female voice said.

A black-haired woman with fierce, brown eyes and a slender but scarred face walked over to him. Unlike many female spies and assassins in the media, this woman was plain and not at all sexy. Instead, she looked professional, with all-black clothes, gloves and sneakers.

“I need to know one thing before I kill you,” she told Aaron, walking over to him and crossing her arms. “Who did you tell about it?”

“About what?” Aaron asked, immediately regretting his decision.

“About miss Mattner and mister Mattner’s business with Nathaniel.” When he didn’t answer, she smiled. “Oh don’t think I didn’t see you do your research. And when I saw you starting to connect the dots, I loaned miss Mattner’s books and gave you a warning I was coming, after which you stormed off to Fox Tower, the one place I have to work for to get into because I’m too old to pass for a student and need a good excuse to enter. So who did you tell about it?”

“No-one,” Aaron said, regretting that decision too.

If he had told Andrew and Neil, at least two people would have known, if they weren’t in on it already that is.

“How come I don’t believe you?” The woman grabbed a sack and placed it on Aaron’s head, who tried to remain still but failed to control his beating heart.

“Who did you tell?” she asked again, from behind this time.

“No-one.”

Water tickled in his neck. Before Aaron could squirm, she dumped an entire ocean’s worth of water on him.

He knew what she was doing, but was too busy trying to breathe and failing to do so, since the waterboarding made him unable to. He struggled and gagged and tried not to drown by holding his breath, but failed and even gulped down some of that water.

“I should put you down.” The woman came around and kicked Aaron down, making him fall on his hands and back, which prevented his head from slamming too hard on the concrete, but slamming it did nonetheless, making Aaron see stars behind his closed eyes.

The woman dumped more water on him, making him scream without actually making noise and desperately try to get some air.

He couldn’t breathe, and panicking about it didn’t help. But he couldn’t stop.

Aaron was terrified. He wished someone was here to come rescue him, but at the same time he hoped the people he wanted to come to the rescue to stay out of it before they were caught too and Aaron was to blame. he hoped they were smarter and called the police instead of barging in.

“Who. Did. You. Tell.” The woman kicked Aaron to the head, making him groan.

“No-one! I swear!”

The woman remained silent for some time, which gave Aaron the time to stop panting and restart his breathing properly.

“Still don’t believe you.” The woman kicked his head again and dropped another ocean of water on Aaron.

He definitely got some water in his lungs this time. And it hurt like nothing Aaron had ever experienced before. He wanted to tell her to stop, to tell her everything she wanted to hear and stay alive a little longer. Drowning was not the way he wanted to go.

“I swear!” he screamed after a coughing fit.

The woman snorted and kicked him again, making Aaron feel dizzy and like he had to throw up. But laying like this, he would definitely suffocate in his own vomit, so he really really hoped he didn’t actually vomit.

“I guess not then.”

Aaron felt relief flow through his veins, but then the woman kicked him again and again and then stepped on his chest with her foot, which did not help his burning lungs feel better.

“Then you won’t mind me asking your brother or girlfriend the same, right?” The woman got off his chest and dragged his chair up again.

Aaron’s vision was swimming and every time he blinked his head started aching and he felt like slipping away, giving in to his need to rest for a bit, but the woman daring to involve Andrew and Katelyn made him feel angry. His anger was extinguished by his lack of adrenaline and the need to sleep, but he was angry nonetheless.

Before he could answer though, someone smashed in the door and marched in.

Aaron couldn’t see who, since there was a bag covering his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” The woman asked. “You’re supposed to-”

Before she could finish her sentence, the other person had stepped forward and did something, after which someone fell on the ground, gurgling. 

Someone walked over and removed the wet bag from Aaron's head, but even with the bag removed, he couldn't see too well, only in shadows and spots and vagueness.

Aaron closed his eyes, wondering if this new person had come to save him or finish the job.

It wasn’t until he heard a very vague voice say: “911? Yeah, one of my friends desperately needs to go to the hospital.” he realized he was save once again and could slip away into the darkness that had been trying to swallow him whole.

\-----

Victoria ended the call with the promise to stay with ‘her friend' until the ambulance would arrive, but she knew she couldn’t leave evidence behind of what she'd done and expose herself and the plan. So, while cleaning up the mess of blood and DNA left behind by Felicity, she worked like a mindless robot.

No, thinking came when she had to accompany Aaron to the hospital in the ambulance and contacted Neil — since she didn’t trust Andrew to have calmed down by now and needed a reassuring voice to help her calm down a little — who immediately bombarded her with questions.

“Not now,” she merely said. “Just meet us at the hospital.”

She hung up and slumped her head against the back of the chair she was sitting in in the ambulance.

Aaron was lucky she knew how Felicity operated and knew where to look, otherwise he’d been dead by the time Victoria had been informed of his location.

This all had been one lucky coincidence, which made Victoria feel like she had used up all of the luck she had for the rest of her life.

If Victoria hadn’t been informed by her brother that Felicity had struck and stormed off to search for Neil, she wouldn’t have known the game had changed and stakes were raised already. If Nicky hadn’t told her Aaron had been missing, she wouldn’t have started to realize what Aaron’s weird behavior in the library and before had meant, she stares she had been receiving from his side, the nervousness he had been displaying… And if she hadn’t climbed out of the window to her own room and left the building — she wasn’t stupid or desperate enough to try climbing down the building — because Andrew had attacked her, she would definitely have been too late to save his precious brother’s life. And last but not least, if Felicity hadn’t put her guard down because of her surprise and code not to attack the Mattner-family, Victoria would never have been able to kill her off so easily, or at all.

She glanced at Aaron, who was currently being treated for his head injuries. They had been lucky, but unlucky at the same time. The game had been upped and got more dangerous, meaning Victoria had to tweak her plan a little bit.

It hit her like a truck. Just the fact that she had to adjust, meant she had made a mistake. She had made a huge mistake by solely focusing on Neil, and not on the other Foxes. Of course one of them was bound to find something out and put themselves on the board before Victoria had predicted they would. She had failed and now it might cost her.

“Victoria?” William’s voice sounded through her phone.

Victoria hadn’t even realized she had called him. She swallowed and bit her lip.

“I fucked up,” she said softly. “Things have changed and I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“What happened?” William sounded concerned.

“They got involved earlier than I had anticipated.” Victoria’s voice no more than a soft whisper, caught by her phone’s microphone to William’s ear.

He remained silent for some time. “Then just go on from there and follow the plan from where they found out. It’s okay Tory. You can go from there.”

Victoria laughed empty. “It’s not that simple. I had planned for them to find out when I would become a target too, when Father would… you know.”

“Hm.”

“So I can’t go from there. I need to rethink this and make sure no-one gets hurt in the process. Father upped the game, and that means the stakes are being raised.”

Before this, Victoria was fairly sure of being able to survive. She wasn’t so sure anymore. There were too many variables she needed to keep track of, and she was just one person. The only person. And she had to do all the work and make sure-

“I believe in you,” William said sweetly. “I know you can do this.”

Victoria sighed. “We’re reaching the hospital, I gotta go.”

“Wait, hospital? Tory, are you oka-”

Victoria cut him off and huffed, putting her chin on top of her knees while the ambulance reached its destination.

She needed time to think. To be alone and think this over. She might be able to readjust a little, but she needed time to plan again.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have any time to think, especially now the stakes were raised and the other Foxes were going to get mushed up in this game she was playing with Father. She had to act now or the consequences could make the plan fail and kill Neil. So she needed a way to buy time.

And how do you buy time? By distracting your opponent.

Victoria grinned. And what better way to distract your opponent, than adding a factor no-one would have expected? Luckily for all involved, she loved being unpredictable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... The stakes are raised.   
> Poor Aaron. I put him through so much pain... (I'm not that sorry.)  
> Let me know what you thought about the chapter and if I have made any mistakes! English is not my native language owo  
> Lots Of Love <3


	17. Chapter 17

Neil got the call from Victoria exactly one minute after he had been able to calm Andrew down a little.

They were in their room, to make sure Andrew could blow off steam without hurting anyone. The other Foxes were still in the girls’ room, waiting for them to return.

“We’re headed to the hospital,” Victoria said before he could say anything.

Neil froze. “The hospital? Are you okay? What happened? How’s Aaron? And the assassin, what about them?”

Victoria was not up for answering, that much was clear out of her answer. “Not now. Just meet us at the hospital.”

She hung up. Neil felt like throwing his phone across the room, but he refrained and followed Andrew instead, who had bolted for the door as soon as he heard the word ‘hospital’ coming from Neil’s mouth.

“They’re at the hospital,” he told Dan, who was in the hallway when he ran past.

“We’ll meet you there!” She shouted back.

Neil caught up with Andrew at the Maserati, got in and they drove away. Neil didn’t even buckle up, just like Andrew.

He knew Andrew was focused on Aaron and his safety, which meant he had no room in his head for anything else.

They got to the hospital first, and Andrew didn’t even bother locking the car before bolting through the doors. Neil hurried after him, after locking the Maserati before someone stole it, wondering whether Andrew had acted the same when the Foxes were coming to get him in Baltimore.

Victoria was in the waiting room already, staring to the floor. She was still bloody and bruised from her fight with Andrew, but no new cuts or bruises had appeared. Neil didn’t know if that were a good or a bad thing.

Andrew immediately grabbed her by her hair and put his knife on her throat. “Why did you lie?”

Victoria didn’t bat an eye. Before, she had struggled and fought, but that seemed to have disappeared. She looked… hollow. Tired. Done.

“I did not,” she simply stated, before sinking into that stare again.

The hospital staff got Andrew to get rid of his knives, after which he sat down and put on his poker face again, a mask he liked to put on if he was feeling too much and needed to shut down.

Neil sat next to him, not touching, but there for Andrew. They sat in silence for some time, waiting.

Then the other Foxes got in, along with Wymack and Abby. Abby immediately bolted to Victoria, who was still bleeding.

Victoria refused Abby’s offer/demand to tend to her wounds, and continued staring to the ground while the Foxes sat down and occupied the entire waiting room.

Less than an hour later, a doctor came to them. “Aaron Minyard?”

Nicky jumped up, tears in his eyes. “I’m his cousin. Is he okay?”

“He will live, but he was lucky. He had water in his lungs, has a concussion caused by multiple hits to the head and a few bruises and sprained wrists, which also have marks of tie wraps. Who was the caller?”

Victoria raised her hand halfheartedly.

“Where and how exactly did you find him?” The doctor sounded concerned. “There might be a need to call in the police, if I had to go on his injuries.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “The police are corrupt anyways.”

No-one argued. The doctor let go, even though he seemed uncomfortable doing so.

“He has woken up, but refuses to talk to us. Maybe if someone of his family goes in?” He looked at Nicky, who glanced at Andrew.

Andrew got up and went past the doctor, without asking where Aaron was.

The doctor followed quickly, which meant the others had to wait again.

“Police?” Allison looked at Victoria.

Victoria looked at the other blonde. Then she smiled sweetly, which made Neil shiver.

“Yes Allison, the doctor thought we might need the police to investigate.” Victoria tilted her head. “Is that so strange when I saved Aaron from a female assassin who was interrogating slash torturing him for information _before_ she could kill him?”

Nicky gasped and stumbled, seeming like he could faint any minute, while most of the other Foxes went pale.

Neil locked eyes with Victoria, who had stopped smiling and put on her poker face again. Her eyes were empty, but they managed to send shivers down Neil’s spine.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he saw tears appear in her eyes. Tears she quickly blinked away and tried to hide by looking away from him.

He frowned, but then the doctor came back and said they could all come and visit Aaron, which they did.

It was weird to see Aaron in a hospital-bed. Neil almost thought Andrew was laying there, but Andrew was sitting next to his twin brother and Aaron’s gaze was filled with anger and fear, while Andrew was still wearing his mask of indifference.

“Aaron!” Nicky cried and he almost dove on the bed, if it weren’t for Aaron shouting ‘Don’t!’ and the bandage on his hands and wrists.

His head was also treated with the bandages, while a nasty bruise was forming on his left cheekbone. He looked tired, but that didn’t make the other emotion go away. Aaron’s eyes spat fire.

Nicky took the other chair and hugged Aaron sideways, careful not to hurt him.

“Katelyn is on her way too,” Renee informed Aaron. “She’ll be here shortly. I also informed the doctor.”

Aaron nodded and turned his gaze to Victoria, who had taken the chair next to the door and played with some bubble wrap she had found somewhere.

“Your brother already beat me up, as you can see. Besides, I’d be nice to the person who saved your fucking life if I were you.” She didn’t even look up and continued popping bubbles.

“That woman knew you,” Aaron said. “Knew you personally, it seemed. And also said you and one mister Mattner had business with Nathaniel.”

The entire room got ten degrees chiller. Neil glanced at Andrew, who was looking at Victoria with a little interest, as if he was curious about what she was going to do now.

Victoria ignored the statement and continued popping bubbles. She seemed lost in thought, before looking up and finding everyone staring at her.

“What?” she asked.

“My attacker knew you,” Aaron repeated. “And I found some interesting stuff too. Your father killed your own mother?”

“That article still exists?” Victoria muttered, frowning. “Hm.”

“That’s not the point!” Aaron spat, and immediately started to cough.

Nicky patted his back and made him lie down again, while Victoria looked at them with a blank face and a tilted head.

“When did you start doing research?” she asked when Aaron had stopped coughing.

Aaron glared at her. “I asked first.” 

“You’re not asking anything. You make statements and expect me to react to them. I can act all shocked and surprised if it helps your feelings, but I’m not in the mood right now. So I’ll just repeat the question: when did you start doing research?”

Aaron continued to glare at her. “When I found a note attached to Andrew’s door. Well, I wrote that off as a prank, until I received a dead fox on my doorstep.”

“I thought that was a prank too,” Matt said. “That’s what we concluded, right?”

“It was clearly a threat,” Victoria said. “It’s really specific to be just a prank. Besides, no-one except for Palmetto students slash athletes can enter the Fox Tower, so crazy fans are excluded. That leaves someone who can enter buildings undetected, a professional spy or assassin.” She gazed at Aaron. “I thought it was a threat to Neil though, which was clearly a mistake. How did you figure it was directed at you?”

“It was on my doorstep,” Aaron said. “And I was the one who had found a note saying Neil’s last days were counted for, or something. I guessed that wasn’t meant to happen, making the one who attached the note lash out on me.”

“Hm. Yeah, that must’ve upset Felicity. She likes scaring her targets and probably put a lot of effort in it to get it attached to Neil’s door in the first place.”

“Who’s Felicity?” Nicky asked.

“The female assassin who had kidnapped and tortured Aaron.”

Andrew unsheathed his knives.

“She’s already six feet under Andrew, don’t worry.” Victoria smiled deviously. “Besides, you would've had no chance against her. She’s a professional assassin, you just a little college boy.”

Andrew didn’t like the statement. His nose crooked up a little, Neil noted, but as quickly as it had come, it was gone again, replaced by his stoic face.

“Well, that gives Felicity enough time to tell Father about you figuring their plan out, and getting permission to eliminate you and making it seem like an accident if you found out too much, along with everyone you had told about it.” Victoria popped a few other bubbles, while the Foxes gasped and Aaron went pale.

Nicky’s tears came out again and he grasped Aaron’s arm, who yelped and made everyone get out of their trance.

“So,” Victoria popped another bubble. “Now that that’s out of the way, do you think you can ask me the right questions?” She smiled deviously.

The silence continued for some time. Neil couldn't believe Victoria was doing this. Or was she?

“What was Aaron not supposed to find out?” Wymack asked, to get the ball rolling.

“Oh, good one! It nicely covers a lot of other questions.”

Neil didn’t get how she could be that cheerful. In his eyes, her whole plan was falling apart, since she had to tell the Foxes now. Unless she was going to lie of course.

“Well, he wasn’t supposed to find out Father is actually a mob boss in Europe, gunning for Neil’s life since he believes Neil’s mother ruined his life and he needs revenge. If Aaron knew that and contacted the FBI or police, his whole plan might fall apart, since he cannot bribe every officer to pass it off as a prank or false statement.” Victoria glanced at Neil. “Especially if it’s one Towns or Browning, who have dealt with Neil before. Or Longhouse, who's just weird and persistent.”

“Your father is a mob boss?” Matt asked.

“Yes, I already said that. Almost every mob boss has the front of businessman, since that gets you to travel around the world without being too suspicious.”

“Why does your father want to exact revenge on Neil?” Renee asked.

“His mother refused to marry him, made him get her a teaching degree to keep Neil out of high school and ‘home school’ him instead and... She also stole some of his money. Oh, and she ran away from him, which no-one ever does to Father.” Victoria popped another bubble. “So he took it kind of personal and serious. And since Neil’s mother is dead, he lashes out.”

“Is that why your in our team?” Kevin asked.

“No. I’m here to prevent it.”

“You’re protecting Neil?” Matt asked.

“Yes. Me and my brother have conducted a counter plan to keep Neil alive. I’m like a double agent, playing along with Father and playing a game against him at the same time.” Victoria pointed to her phone. “My brother contacts me every time Father strikes and prepares me for intervening. I have saved Neil’s life up to three times now, not counting the assassins I eliminated before they could even come close. It's why I haven't joined you on night-practice.” She locked eyes with Neil, who stared back.

“Three times?” Dan asked.

“Yes; once during summer vacay, when I made my presence in the US clear to Neil during his morning run; once at Eden’s, with Neil and Andrew as witness or at least knowing; and once during one of his morning runs, by taking a different route and therefore bypassing the idiot sniper. I had to kill all those assassins too, to make sure none of them could tell Father.”

“No witnesses,” Neil said, knowing what his mother always said.

He had no idea Victoria had already been up to her task, but it did explain why he hadn’t experienced any attacks yet.

“Why do we always end up with some killer?” Jack mumbled, as if he had been on the team for years.

Victoria giggled. “Because in this world, it’s kill or be killed, and I really do not want to be part of that last category.” Her eyes turned icy again. “So deal with it.”

“Is this going to be a problem?” Wymack then asked.

Victoria tilted her head. “A problem how?”

“I think you know.”

“Maybe.” Victoria smiled. “Then yes. I made a mistake and only focused on Neil, which had almost cost Aaron his life. Any step or action we take could cost someone, so we have to be careful. Also, Father will most likely not care about being discreet now that Aaron tried to be smart and Felicity failed to eliminate him, so be paranoid.” Victoria popped a few other bubbles.

“Be paranoid?” Allison frowned. “That’s a weird word choice.”

“If I say careful, you will not be careful enough. If I say paranoid, it will scare you and make you look over your shoulder for at least a month. I cannot protect you all, my main goal will still be keeping Neil safe, so you have to protect yourselves.”

Neil bit his lip. It was his fault they were put in danger again. If he’d just slip away…

“Don’t,” Andrew said. “Vicky said she’d protect you, and that doesn’t mean you can run away from her.”

“Unless I chose to kidnap you and put you in a safe house,” Victoria chimed in.

“Besides, I’m sure all of the Foxes would want you to stay and keep you safe.” Andrew ignored Victoria and looked at the others.

The Foxes were determined. Scared, yes, but they also stood behind Andrew’s statement.

“We’ll just keep up a winning streak!” Matt exclaimed. “Keep the media’s attention, make sure they cannot touch you, Neil, unless they want reporters to ask questions.”

“We’re good at making murders look like incidents,” Victoria said.

“Whatever! The media will still ask questions!” Nicky was beaming.

Victoria rolled her eyes, but she did smile a little. As if she was looking at something adorable, like a kitten.

“I think there is only one question to be asked,” Andrew continued. “How can we trust you?”

Victoria smiled again, a little sad this time. “You can’t. For as soon as it’s in my best interest, I will drop you all and follow up to my plan to kidnap Neil and get him to a safehouse. I have only two interests: keeping Neil safe and killing Father.”

“Why do you want to keep Neil safe?” Renee asked.

Victoria seemed to settle down. She suddenly looked fragile, scared.

“He’s proof.”

Neil frowned. “Of what?”

“Of… Of…” Victoria dropped the bubble wrap and stared at the floor. Her next words were like a whisper, soft, quiet and breathless. “Of being able to decide on your own destiny.”

It remained silent for some time. Abby put her hand on Victoria’s shoulder, but Victoria didn’t react at all.

To choose your own destiny. To be freed. Victoria had told him and Andrew her real goal here was to be freed. Did she believe Neil could help her gain that? While he was an asset to the Moriyama’s?

“Well, I guess that's it.” Victoria stood, wearing a smile on her face again. “Question time is over! I'm going outside for a bit. Don't try to follow and do not contact me for at least an hour. I need some alone-time.” 

No-one tried to stop her. They were all still processing all the new information. Katelyn also arrived, crying her eyes out and hugging Aaron, clinging to him like he was the only thing preventing her from dropping on her knees.

Andrew got out of his chair to go to the other side of the room, but whether he did that to get away from Katelyn or give her his seat, Neil didn’t know.

It did help to distract the Foxes and let them focus on their injured teammate, instead of the story of the girl who had left the room to do who-knows-what.

Katelyn carefully pinched the bruise under Aaron’s eye, looked at his wrapped arms and head and asked him who was the president of America before settling down a little and crying silently in his lap.

Neil watched them for some time before going to Andrew and asking if he could sit next to him. When Andrew gave his permission, Neil slipped down to sit next to Andrew on the ground, legs touching.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked him.

“Yes.”

Andrew grabbed his hand and squeezed it once, before letting go and staring at Aaron and Katelyn, the former comforting the latter.

It might get hard for the Foxes, being forced to watch their backs against an enemy only Victoria and Neil knew well, but he was sure they’d make it through. They were Foxes after all. Not like they had been through worse per se, but they did know how to make it through hardship. Neil was confident they would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOOOO! I just started university (yes, I'm one of those smart kids) (just kidding, it's confusing) and that means updates can become more regular. One thing is that my schedule changes every five weeks, and I also spend time at college (I have NO CLUE what the equivalent of 'hogeschool' is in America or whatever country you readers come from, but Reverso Context - a site I use since Google Translate does weird stuff sometimes/many times/almost regularly and RC is more reliable - translated it to college, so I just used that) which means I won't know how regular it can become.  
> For now: I'll try to update every Tuesday, but if it somehow doesn't work, I'll notify you again.  
> Thanks for reading! See you next week/chapter!


	18. Chapter 18

Victoria made a little call while she was outside, standing next to the road.

“I know you have been following the progress for some time,” she told the other person on the line. “I would if I were you.”

“What do you want?” Ichirou asked her.

Victoria smiled. “How about a little meeting? I have an offer you simply cannot refuse.”

Ichirou didn’t say anything. If he didn’t know the Godfather, she’d have another serious conversation with him.

“Give me a date and a time, and I’ll see if I come over.”

Victoria knew he’d come, no matter what. Ichirou wasn’t stupid. Besides, for all he knew, he’d get to strike a deal with Father through her.

This wasn’t part of the plan, but Victoria had tweaked it a little and thought this might be the best option. This would up her game as well, meaning she’d be toe to toe to Father again. Without him knowing. Kind of.

“Today, in two hours, I will walk into the park and sit beside a lovely fountain with mermaid statues. That’s where we’ll meet.”

Ichirou hung up.

Victoria put her phone away and went inside again, to let Abby look at her injuries.

\-----

Aaron had to stay the night, since they weren’t sure he’d wake up properly with his head injury.

To his surprise Andrew offered to stay with him, to watch over him. And shockingly to Aaron, Neil let Andrew, even though Neil probably, most likely needed Andrew too.

Victoria had come back, let her wounds be treated by Abby, and then said she’d be going out for some time and not to follow.

The Foxes speculated what she was going to do, and they all agreed she’d probably meet up with her father or one of his accomplices.

Katelyn was informed about the whole debacle too, since Victoria told her, reasoning she deserved the truth and could also end up as collateral damage if she wasn’t informed. Needless to say, she was shocked and cried even more. Aaron and Nicky both tried, but failed to cheer her up and calm her down, so Renee and Allison took over when the Foxes had to leave.

Aaron looked at Andrew again, who was reading a book in the corner of his room. “You didn’t have to stay.”

Andrew grunted. They were silent again for some time.

“It’s not your fault.” Aaron clenched his fists. “I should have just told you, not get angry with you for doing what you did. I-I guess it was the stress.”

This time, Andrew did look up, with cold eyes.

“Do you think I’m sitting here because I blame myself for you getting hurt?”

Aaron frowned. “You’re not?”

“No. I’m sitting here because I want to, because I thought you might like it. And maybe to gain some control again.” Andrew went back to his book.

Aaron was speechless. This was… new. Weird even.

But, Aaron had to admit grudgingly, he did like Andrew being there and caring for him. Being like a brother, he guessed.

“Is it a nice book?” he asked.

Andrew lifted an eyebrow. “Small-talk? Really?”

“Oh, I can’t ask because I might genuinely be interested in what you’re reading and doing?” Aaron returned.

Andrew snorted. “Touche, but you were trying to engage in some small-talk.”

“Whatever.”

They were silent for some time again.

“It’s okay I guess.” Andrew turned the book to look at its cover.

Aaron hummed. They didn’t talk much after that.

\-----

Victoria didn’t look up from her book when Ichirou approached her with a few of his men. She kept on reading, waiting for him to make the first move.

“What did you call me here for?”

Victoria pointed at the book. “Did you know Richard Klinkhamer had killed his wife, and wrote a book about it? His publisher found it too gruesome, so they rejected it, but the Dutch underground press did publish excerpts, making him a literary celebrity. Nine years later, they could finally frame him for the murder, but before that, the Dutch police had no evidence nor a body to work with. I will spare you the details on that, but I have always found it interesting how people keep on doing things like this. Appearing normal and collected, but turning out to be psycho’s.”

“I do not think you let me come over to tell me that.”

“No, but it is a nice way to start this conversation.” Victoria put the book away, which contained the excerpts of Klinkhamer’s novel.

“Father is an excellent example of a seemingly calm and collected person, while he hides his true, maniac self. I presume you have already been contacted by him about Nathaniel Wesninski?”

“He gave me his condolences for losing one of my properties.”

“Hm. Sounds like him to do so.”

Ichirou glanced at Victoria before sitting down next to her, on the edge of the fountain. “Are you here to tell me to do it?”

“No. I’m here to ask for your help to prevent it from happening.”

This surprised Ichirou, but only a little. He raised an eyebrow.

“And why do you think I’m willing to put my new empire on the line just to save one of my investments?”

“Because I would.” Victoria smiled. “Besides, what’s life without a few risks?”

Ichirou didn’t respond. He just stared at her, poker-faced.

“You’re no fun,” she commented. “Of course I know the position you’re in. It’s not worth it. One investment is not worth risking your father’s empire when you’re still building on it’s foundations.” Victoria stared back. “But what if I tell you I want your help because I’m going to kill Father?”

This made Ichirou huff a laugh. “Is that supposed to make me rethink my decision?”

“Of course it is. It means you can form an alliance with the new Mattner-empire, after Father has been dealt with. My brother will be happy to have you, especially since he’ll be going through the same thing you’re going through now.”

Ichirou raised his eyebrow a little. “Go on.”

“Don’t pretend like you’re in charge here,” Victoria huffed. “Here’s the deal: you help me and I will get my brother to form an alliance with you.”

“That’s a vague deal.”

“I know. I first have to know you want in, before you get the specifics. Can’t risk anything leaking to Father, can I?” She smiled sweetly.

Ichirou thought about it. And thought some more.

“I’ll have to come back to you about it.” He started to rise up, but Victoria grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“This is a one-time offer. If you walk away now, you will not get this chance again.” Bluff, pure bluff, but she had to say it.

Ichirou was in a tight spot. Victoria knew she could easily manipulate him by threatening him to tell Father about this, putting him in an even tight spot. Ichirou would get out, but Father would definitely make him regret even thinking about it.

She didn’t though, because she had to make sure Ichirou did this on his own volition. Otherwise he’d switch sides as soon as he could.

“I’m listening.” Ichirou sat down again, smiling a little.

Victoria smiled back. “Good. Here’s the plan…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twinyard bonding! And Ichirou comes out to play! Yay! Progress!  
> (also I survived the first week of university to get a nasty cold, which makes me cough like a madman and have a constant snotty nose which does not help me with sleeping, so I'm like a zombie right now).  
> Lots Of Love and see you next week!


	19. Chapter 19

When Aaron was allowed to leave the hospital, Halloween had just passed and November rolled around.

He was still shook and had the occasional nightmare about the whole ordeal, but Nicky and Matt helped him get through those, by talking to him, hugging him or calling Katelyn when it got too much for them to handle. 

Andrew helped too, but not by calming him down after nightmares. Andrew helped by making Aaron talk about it to Betsy, on their sessions together. And when Aaron did and Betsy helped him by giving him advice and recommending certain teas, Andrew had bought them on the way to the Tower and told Aaron to use it. It was harsh, but also nice. It made Aaron feel a little better about his relation with his brother.

November meant upcoming midterms, after which Thanksgiving and Christmas would be celebrated. 

Everyone was getting into the holidays-spirit and complained about the midterms, but Victoria noticed she was distracted.

November was the worst month of the year, followed by December. William knew this and called her more often, but even her boyfriend’s cheerfulness couldn’t help her feel better. The nightmares just got worse and she felt like the days were passing in a haze.

Neil noticed something was wrong too of course, just like the other Foxes. It wasn’t hard to miss the bags under her eyes and the short, cut-off answers they were getting instead of her usual snark and sarcasm.

They were worried, but Victoria locked them out and wouldn’t answer their questions.

During a movie-night however, she seemed to break.

They were watching Frozen, and while Nicky sang along with every song, Neil was laying on Andrew’s chest, after asking for his consent of course. Victoria had dropped her butt next to him and eventually dozed off with her cheek against his knees.

Neil was happy she slept, since he was worried about her. He didn’t mind the numb feeling entering his feet, especially not when Andrew wrapped his arms around Neil’s chest and pressed his cheek to Neil’s hair.

He claimed to hate the way Neil’s shampoo smelled, but Neil and he both knew hate was just a four-letter word for something else.

When the movie was over, they all sat in silence for some time. Neil thought they all had fallen asleep somehow, since it was dark and no-one was saying anything.

But then someone in front of him and Andrew — and the person sitting there was Kevin — moved and hit someone else, someone who cursed with Nicky’s voice.

“Geez Kevin, if you don’t like sitting all alone in the dark without someone to kiss, you should just say so. I’ll be happy to help.”

Kevin made a disgusted noise and kicked Nicky again, making the latter stand up and walk over to the television.

All of the sudden, Neil felt Victoria stir against his legs. Then she bolted upright and made a heartbreaking sound, half like a scream, half like a cry. 

He got up and reached out, but Victoria kicked him and he fell against Andrew, who was probably glaring daggers at Victoria for hitting Neil.

“Victoria? It’s me,” Neil said when he sat up again.

Victoria didn’t answer. Allison turned on the lights, since she was closest to them.

The first thing Neil saw, were the tears streaming down Victoria’s face. She probably didn’t even notice them, since she was occupied with looking at him in horror.

“What’s wrong?” Matt asked.

Victoria blinked a few times and shifted her gaze to him. Then she sniffed, dried up her tears and inhaled deeply.

“I hate November,” she said softly.

Before anyone could react, Victoria got up and went to the door. She left the room and closed the door behind her.

The Foxes now shifted their gaze to Neil, who was frowning. 

“What’s wrong with November?” Nicky asked. 

Neil didn’t know. All he knew was that her birthday was November the eighteenth and she had gotten kidnapped on Halloween, since she got her biggest and ugliest scar from that kidnapping. 

It was one over her stomach, long and rifled. She had told him her kidnappers had wanted to let her bleed out when her rescue came barging in, so they made a deep cut in her abdomen and left her in the closet where they had kept her. She had just become four and almost died because of it.

“Her birthday is on the eighteenth,” he decided to say. “She hates her birthday, because it was also the day she almost got killed by some kidnappers who had kidnapped her on Halloween.”

“Her mother died in November,” Aaron said, providing them with knowledge he had found out on one of his researches.

“Well, those are some reasons to hate a certain month,” Allison muttered, before getting up and going after Victoria.

Neil felt like he should go too, but when he tried to get up, Andrew pushed him down again.

“Let Allison handle this one,” Andrew murmured. “Tell us more about the almost-dying part.”

\-----

Allison knocked on Victoria’s door, but didn’t receive an answer, so she just entered.

Victoria had put on every light in her bedroom and sat on the ground, hugging her knees. She stared at the ground, empty.

“Neil told us about the kidnapping and birthday-death,” Allison announced. “I came here to talk. Wanna talk?”

Victoria shook her head.

“Pity, I’m still going to talk.” Allison thought for some time. “As the daughter of a very rich family, I too have been a target for criminals to capture and hold hostage. It never happened, but the fear was there. I have no idea how it must have felt, but I do know about feeling locked up. My father wanted me to be someone I wasn’t, which made me feel like a caged bird.” 

Victoria looked up, listening to Allison talking.

“I broke free, but that angered him, making him cut me off. I have never felt better. So I might not know about being kidnapped and fearing for your life, but I do know about feeling trapped and breaking free, so I might be able to understand a little.”

Victoria huffed. “No you won’t, but it’s nice you think that way.”

Allison rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I have no imagination.”

“It’s not about that.” Victoria sighed. “It’s about feeling it. To understand, you have to know how it feels. What it feels like to have no way out, to fear for your life, to be helpless and clueless about if help is going to arrive and when, since you know your parents won’t pay the idiot kidnappers to release you, since that will only make them increase the amount and make clear your parents care about you, which means you’re a weak link to them and others can come too and demand even harsher things of your parents. You have to know how it feels to be all alone and surrounded by people that will definitely do you harm if you as much as squeak or utter a letter. Then, and only then, you will understand what it feels like.”

Allison was speechless. Victoria hugged her knees tighter and didn’t say anything else. She looked angry.

Allison sat down in front of her and sighed. “Then tell me. Help me understand. Let me help you.”

“You can’t.”

Two words, seven letters, and they hurt very much. Allison felt anger flow through her veins. She wanted to shout, to scream and shake Victoria, to shriek and to destroy. 

She remained silent, staring at Victoria and fighting the urge to slap her. Allison didn’t win.

Victoria didn’t even react when Allison stood up and marched away, just like she hadn’t reacted to when Allison had slapped her across the cheek.

It burned however, so she couldn’t ignore it for long.

Tears filled her eyes again. Victoria knew she was being stupid, but she couldn’t help it. The Foxes should stay out of it, they should just ignore her pain and focus on school and Exy and the holidays coming up.

They shouldn’t concern themselves with her well-being, since that was inferior to that of Neil or themselves. As long as Neil survived this, children across the mafia-world would know there was hope for them to break free if they desire to. They’d know it was okay to rebel and repel their family, to break free and fly high in the sky.

Because Victoria didn’t have that hope before Neil came along, before he started playing with the Foxes and became a person, a person who didn’t have any ties to the mafia, or at least, not on paper. And others definitely deserved it too.

\-----

Allison came back fuming, so Renee took that as ‘the conversation didn’t go as planned’. She put her arms around her girlfriend, calming her down and wiping those angry tears away.

“She’s stupid,” Allison said. “I want to understand, but she claims I cannot, and her stubbornness prevents her from seeing I can at least try, I want to try.”

“She’s just damaged,” Renee whispered. “She doesn’t like to rely on others, though she cannot take on the world alone.”

“She has to realize that,” Allison said, trying to stand up again.

Renee stopped her from doing so, by plopping her legs across Allison’s and snuggling close. “I think Victoria needs some alone-time.”

Allison huffed, but didn’t argue and eventually also relaxed. 

They watched the movie, waiting for Victoria to return, but she never came back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyoo,  
> So, I kind of forgot yesterday to upload this?... I'm really sorry, but another project has grabbed all my attention and university isn't kind to me either, so my mind just shoved it aside. Which is a shame and isn't alright either, since, well, this. _Angst._  
>  I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one! (Also, look forward to that project I was talking about. It kind of just hit me this weekend and has me invested like so much, and it's so much fun to write too, I cannot wait to show you guys, but I have not a clue when that's going to be, so be patient)  
> Lots Of Love <3


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for blood, fighting and murder. If I've missed anything, send me a message or comment on this chapter.  
> Read the notes on the end for an exciting announcement!

The next day, Neil knocked on Victoria’s door to come get her for their morning run.

She didn’t answer, but her door was open and the lights were on, so Neil loudly announced he was going to enter, waited to make sure she didn’t object and entered.

Neil found her in the middle of the floor, hugging her knees and fast asleep. She drooled a little on her arm, but didn’t seem to wake up, even when Neil called her name a few times and touched her shoulder.

He sighed. She must have had a rough night then. He better go alone, making sure she could get the rest she needed.

He texted her he had already gone on his run, so she wouldn’t miss him when she woke up. Then Neil texted Andrew Victoria was still sleeping and he was going alone, to make sure Andrew would know.

He didn’t receive a reply, but he did know Andrew had read the text, so Neil put his phone away again and got out.

\-----

It happened when Neil was running back. He already had the feeling he was being followed, since he saw the same car thrice during his run, from afar, which meant he couldn't make out what type of car or even a number-plate.

Neil was weary, which made him cut off his usual run and go back as soon as he could. He also had a knife on him, in case this attacker would try to grab him.

He looked back through a window to see the car closing in when another man stepped in his way and put a knife in Neil’s stomach, just avoiding his organs. 

The knife left his body and the man tried to stab Neil in his chest this time, but Neil blocked it by instinctively raising his arm, the next thing the knife hit.

Neil spun around and kicked the man in the stomach. Renee had taught him that move. The man released his knife, leaving it in Neil’s arm. 

The adrenaline in his veins made him numb, but it did help him jump away from the second swing the man made, avoiding the second knife.

Neil blocked another attack, but the sound of screeching wheels distracted him.

Lucky for him, Matt was faster. He jumped out of the car and hit the man in the jaw. Neil was surprised to learn Matt had been the one following him, even though he was glad to see his friend.

The man fell on the ground, but not before getting shot twice. Once in his chest and once in his head. Neil had no idea who the shooter was, but it was clear the shooter wasn’t aiming at Matt or Neil, since he/she stopped as soon as the man hit the ground.

Matt didn’t hesitate, grabbed Neil and almost slung him into the car.

He closed the door and hit the road as fast as he could, violating the speeding limit.

Neil put his hand on his stomach, where most of the blood was coming from. The adrenaline was still there, so he didn’t feel any pain yet, but he did feel the hormones seeping away. He was safe with Matt now.

“Neil? You have to stay awake until I get you to the hospital okay?” Matt sounded urgent, already calling someone. “Hello, my best friend has been stabbed and I’m driving him to Palmetto Health, so I need some doctors ready to treat him. He’s losing a lot of blood.”

Neil failed to keep the car clean, for as soon as he accepted Matt’s vest to put on the gaping wound, blood flowed onto the seat.

“I’m sorry I’m ruining your car,” he murmured, feeling the adrenaline leave his body and pain and sleep settle in.

“I’m sorry you got stabbed in the first place,” Matt said. “If I had been a little bit more sneaky or a little faster, you wouldn’t have been hurt at all.”

Neil grimaced. “I don’t blame you. It takes practice to be sneaky or fast.”

“Keep talking buddy, we’re almost there.”

“Did Andrew call you?”

“Andrew said I should follow you, while he would scan near the Tower and sweep the floor with anyone suspicious there. Victoria was sleeping, or something.”

“Yeah, she was still sleep’n when I came to get ’r.” Neil noticed his words were getting slurred and his eyelids were dropping. “Didn’ wanna wake her. 'M sleepy too.”

“Stay focused Neil. Just a little further.”

Neil forced himself to sit up, but his stomach disagreed, so he slumped back and laid down. “Did’y call ‘Drew?”

“Not yet. I’d like to get you to the hospital first.” Matt turned around and stopped in front of the hospital, just when Neil’s eyes started to close and his head wobbled.

Neil was vaguely aware of how Matt got out and lifted him, carrying him to the waiting hospital-staff and the stretcher. He also heard him talking to the medics, but Neil’s head was swimming and he fell away shortly thereafter.

\-----

Victoria woke up to someone pounding on the door. She rubbed her eyes and got up, feeling her back and legs ache. She shouldn’t fall asleep like that again. It hurt like hell.

To her surprise, it was Andrew who was standing in the hall, not Neil. Something had happened.

“Neil has been attacked and stabbed during his morning run,” Andrew said. “He didn’t want to wake you, since you ‘needed all the sleep she could get’.”

Victoria felt the blood leave her face. Her ears started ringing, and she didn’t hear the accusations Andrew was throwing at her for not being there.

She knew she had to be there. She knew she had to be strong and not collapse like a baby and ignore the fact that it's November and be vigilant and perfect and-

“Regret doesn’t solve it Vicky.” Andrew walked away, probably going to the hospital.

His indifferent tone meant nothing, Victoria knew that. She saw how he clenched his keys, how tense his shoulders were and how fast he was walking. He probably regretted something too, but he didn't want to show anything.

But Andrew being indifferent about it helped her get to her senses. 

She had made another mistake, but this time, Neil had gotten hurt. November really was the worst month ever.

Victoria changed clothes and marched outside. Time slipped away, but they hadn’t reached the finals yet. Neil had to survive until the finals. She needed to buy more time, so she did the only thing she could do.

March in some of the places assassins were staying at and killing them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> Sorry for the long, long wait. I had exams and then the WiFi decided to die and I had no internet for an entire week. I survived both, and now that the WiFi has been fixed again, I immediately decided to post this chapter!  
> Aaaaaannndd... The first two chapters of my new fic! If you're curious, go check it out. It's basically a Deltora Quest AU, for those who actually remember reading those books or watching the anime adaptation (or both, I did both). For those who haven't read Deltora Quest or watched the anime adaptation, it's kind of a fantasy AU in which they go on an adventure to collect gems and find the successor to the throne of Deltora, all to get rid of the evil Shadowlord. It's fun, filled with angsty, fluffy and funny moments, and I really hope I do the original books AND the Foxes justice.  
> So if you're interested, go look for it on my profile! And if you're not, that's fine too (though I will have to tell you you miss out, but it's you're own choice and I cannot force you to go read it).  
> This will mean however updating both fics simultaneously, so I'll update once every two weeks from now on. Whether on Monday, on Friday or any other day I don't know, but it will be once every two weeks.  
> Thanks for reading this end note and of course this chapter! See you next time!


	21. Chapter 21

Neil woke up in a hospital bed, bandaged and in the company of the Foxes.

Andrew immediately asked ‘yes or no’ and grabbed Neil’s hand after receiving a hoarse ‘yes’. The other Foxes crowded him, asking him how he felt and rolling their eyes when he told them he was fine.

“You were stabbed,” Nicky pointed out. “Matt witnessed.”

“I know.”

“You’re not fine.”

“I’m alive.”

Nicky shook his head and gave up. Neil looked around and immediately missed one person, someone who had been popping bubble wrap when Aaron was laying in Neil’s position and Neil was one of the people crowding the room.

“Where’s Victoria?” He asked.

Andrew’s grip tightened before loosening again. “I already talked to her, don’t worry. She went white when she had heard you were stabbed.”

“Then why is she not here?” Neil frowned. “It’s not her fault.”

“It is.” Strangely enough, this had been said by Kevin.

The Foxes all looked at him.

“She was supposed to be his bodyguard, so why wasn’t she there? Bodyguards don’t leave their pupil, especially not when they’re in danger. Victoria did and it cost Neil, so it is her fault.”

“I’m not disagreeing,” Aaron said. “But Kevin: harsh.”

“It’s true,” Andrew chimed in. “Whether or not you like it.”

Neil knew that last sentence had been directed to him. He didn’t like it, but he knew they had a point. It still didn’t explain her absence.

\-----

Katelyn was walking towards the library when she saw Victoria. She knew the Fox had been absent almost the day since Neil had been hospitalized, so she was surprised to see her here.

“Hey Victoria!”

Victoria turned around, which gave Katelyn a good look at her bloody face, hands, knife and clothes. It was still shocking to know this girl is the daughter of a powerful mob-boss, but seeing her like this made Katelyn forget all of her doubts. Victoria could play a crazy serial killer with all of that blood, or an escaped victim of torture.

“It’s not mine,” Victoria informed Katelyn cheerfully. “And the people it came from certainly don’t need it anymore.”

“You had been gone for the entire day,” Katelyn said. “They-they missed you at the hospital.”

“I had business to take care of.” Victoria grinned. “And stress to relieve.”

Katelyn had never been afraid of the petite blonde girl before, but she was now. Only crazy people grinned like that when covered in blood.

“Oh don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” Victoria wiped some of the blood off the knife. “You’re not posing a threat to Nat, so you won’t have to be eliminated.”

“O-okay.” Katelyn tried to find an excuse to go away, but suddenly, Victoria was in front of her, grinning like a mad person.

“I do have to warn you though. If any of this gets out to the authorities and you’re to blame, I do have to take certain… precautions. The plan cannot fail, or Nat will die and there will be no hope left.”

“Ho-hope for what?” 

“For kids like me. Who want to break free but cannot because of the chains that are tying them down.”

“O-okay. I-I won’t spill.”

“Good, good.” Victoria walked away again, humming.

Katelyn’s heart wouldn’t stop pounding and when Victoria had left her sight, she grabbed her phone and called Aaron.

\-----

Aaron was fuming when he stormed into Victoria’s room. She had just finished cleaning up all the blood, so she put on her mask and looked at him curiously.

She knew why he was here. She knew why he was angry with her. She did not regret it though.

“You threatened Katelyn?!”

“Why do you always make statements and expect me to react to them when you know the answer?” she asked. “I mean- oh no. How did you find out?”

“This isn’t funny!” Aaron wasn’t as scary as Andrew was when mad, but he seemed to need an outlet. “You cannot threaten her! She has done nothing wrong!”

“Yet,” Victoria replied coldly. “And yes I can threaten her. I can threaten whoever I want. Who will stop me? You?” She snorted. “You wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Aaron lunged for her, but Victoria stepped to the side and let him crash into the wall. When he tried again, she dodged again, but this time she pushed him up the wall and locked his arm behind his back, making him whine in pain.

“I told you. You. Don’t. Stand. A. Chance.” She released him and walked away, but Aaron wasn’t done with her.

“Do not threaten her again,” he hissed.

Victoria laughed. “Or what?”

Aaron grinned. “Or I’ll call the FBI and give them all the information they need to lock you and your whole family up.”

“Was that meant to scare me?” Victoria chuckled. “I’d be out in a week, and by then, both you and Neil will have died under mysterious circumstances. I think Neil will be stabbed again, and it will be pinned on one of his father’s former men, and you will have choked to death after eating ice cream at Sweetie’s.”

She threw him an icy glare. “Do not try to threaten me Minyard. You don’t know what you’re facing.”

Aaron wanted to answer, but then Victoria’s phone rang.

She picked up, like Aaron wasn’t even there to begin with. Victoria listened for some time, hummed and hung up.

“Well, this is interesting.” She walked away, leaving Aaron alone.

Like before hadn’t happened. Like she didn’t have a care in the world.

Aaron punched the wall and stormed off to his own room. Maybe some video-games would help him calm down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> Who might have called Victoria? And why?  
> Also: I really liked writing Victoria a little crazy like this, threatening Katelyn and all. Maybe I'm just a sadist. Or maybe I like it because I'm not and it made me go out of my comfort-zone. Who knows?  
> Thanks for reading, don't forget to tell me if I made any mistakes (English is not my native language) and see you in two weeks!


	22. Chapter 22

Victoria received a call from her brother, which hadn’t happened so far.

“You dragged Longhouse to Palmetto it seems. He’ll be there shortly, with Nathaniel.”

Victoria hummed and hung up, after which she leaves Aaron in her room to fume. He punched her wall, which was kind of childish. She had just threatened his girlfriend not to tell the cops about this.

She was just going outdoors when the door opened and a familiar man walked in. His gray eyes were immediately fixated on her, making him frown.

“Hi Longhouse,” Victoria said. “I just wanted to come and greet you. How have you been? Still single? Still going to the same barber that always fucks up your hair.”

Longhouse touched his blond hair, which was like a bird’s nest and him going through it with his hand didn’t make it any better. He then frowned and huffed. “Nice to see you too Victoria. I guess you have also foreseen in the future why I’m here.”

“To ask me questions I will not answer. Hey Neil.”

Neil waved awkwardly, standing behind Longhouse, who was blocking the door.

“How are you?” Longhouse asked.

Victoria shrugged. “Same as always.”

She always wondered why he did that, trying to get to know her and ask her how she was. Maybe he wanted to get closer to get her to open up, but she wasn’t going to let him. Maybe he was curious, genuinely asking. Maybe he just liked to drive her crazy by doing it.

“Why don’t we take a walk? I heard the parks are lovely here.”

“Who let you out of the hospital Neil?” Victoria asked. “You have been stabbed this morning. You shouldn’t be walking yet.”

“I’m fine.”

Victoria rolled her eyes.

“Don’t ignore me,” Longhouse said. “Come along please.”

“Nah. I’ll just go out on my own without FBI following me and enjoy some ice cream. I think I deserved some.” She passed Longhouse, gave Neil a small hug and pranced off, ponytail moving along and hypnotizing the people looking at her go.

Then Longhouse cursed and went after her, along with the other three agents. The Foxes watched them go, curious.

“So we have the FBI to worry about now too?” Matt asked. “Can we tell them?”

“No,” Neil said. “They’ll only get in the way. Mob business should be solved with the mob, not with bystanders.”

“So, our involvement isn’t good either,” Allison concluded.

Neil nodded, staring after the agents and Victoria. He wondered where Victoria and Longhouse had met, since they clearly knew each other. He made a mental note to ask Victoria later, when she returned.

Aaron stormed out, almost knocking Neil off his feet.

“Sorry,” Aaron said.

“Why are you in a hurry?” Dan asked.

“No reason!” And Aaron stormed off again.

Neil looked at Andrew, who watched his brother go. He wanted to tell him to go after Aaron again, but Andrew turned around and pushed Neil inside.

The others followed suit, fussing over Neil when he tried to take the stairs instead of the lift like the doctor had ordered him to.

“Junkie,” Andrew whispered in Neil’s ear when he was pouting in the lift.

It made Neil smile, which earned him a 146 from the blond. 

\-----

Victoria knew Longhouse was following her, but she acted like she didn’t to piss him off. 

When she sat on a bench however, he sat next to her.

“Ew, stranger danger,” she said, moving further away from him.

Longhouse rolled with his eyes, but he didn’t move closer or tried to call her back. He just sat there, arms crossed, eyes on the road.

“Why did your father move to the USA?” he asked.

“I wanted to play Exy, so he made sure I got onto one of the best teams and we moved over here.”

“That’s not the truth. Besides, I thought you loved the Trojans.”

“He’s also trying to strike some deals to do business here.” Victoria ignored the other comment.

“What type of business?”

“Just business. You guys can go back to Germany and try to solve the murder-mystery of the month on your computer.”

“Victoria.” Longhouse almost sounded like a father chiding his child.

“Paul,” Victoria imitated.

He rolled with his eyes. “I know you think you have to keep secrets because he’s your father and you want to protect him, but if he’s up to something, we have to know. You’re the only one who can help us lock him up or at least get a trial going.”

“Oh really?” Victoria had heard this before, this plea.

She knew it were true though, and she also knew that having the feds on her back making preparations to lock Father up would help her situation, but she needed to do it this way. Otherwise her brother wouldn’t get his end of the deal and Victoria wanted him to get that, because even though she wanted to be freed from that world, she didn’t blame her brother for staying and making it his own.

So, she couldn’t give them anything, unless she wanted the plan to fall apart.

“Well, I can tell you this much,” Victoria started, grinning, “I do not want to protect Father in any way. I just don’t like complying with you, that’s all.”

“So you admit he’s doing some shady business here?” Longhouse looked hopeful.

Victoria’s grin widened. “I’m not doing anything but sit here and enjoy the evening sun. What about you?”

Longhouse shook his head and slumped backwards, sighing. “You’re so impossibly stubborn.”

Victoria didn’t react. She just closed her eyes and let the sun heat up her face. Maybe she should do this more often, sitting in the evening sun and just enjoying another day that had passed, even if this had been a shitty day.

“You remind me of your mother,” Longhouse said quietly. “She also used to be this stubborn.”

Victoria said nothing. She did open her eyes however, looking a little sad.

Her brother had found out their mother and Longhouse were having a relationship around the time Victoria was born. After that, her mother had cut off all ties with Longhouse, staying at Father’s side now that she had two children to protect from his cruelness. She succeeded more with Victoria, since her brother had already been under his influence for too long.

But her brother wasn’t trying to become his mindless doll and heir. He was trying to claim the throne to rule and protect both Victoria and their mother. He failed at the latter part, and Victoria knew he would also fail to keep her alive. Alphonse knew too, so he did the best he could to at least let her become eighteen-and-a-half. 

“Congratulations by the way.” Longhouse looked at Victoria again. “I forgot to bring a present, but I promise you will get one.”

He did the same a year ago. She had flushed the necklace down the toilet.

Victoria hummed. “I hate my birthday.”

“I know.”

“Then why bother?”

Longhouse didn’t answer. He just sighed and shook his head. When he opened his eyes again, there were tears in his eyes, but he blinked them away.

“Penelope liked November. She always said the world looked smug and warm covered in snow, with people bundled up in coats and scarfs.”

“I know.”

“Is that why you hate your birthday? Or has it to do with you getting kidnapped during the winter months?”

Victoria huffed. “I think you know.”

Longhouse nodded. He got up, stretched and smiled at Victoria. “Let me know if you need someone familiar to talk to Victoria, okay? Whether you need agent Longhouse or Paul.”

Victoria didn’t answer. She also didn’t stare at him while he walked away, leaving her on the bench.

She did however, let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Longhouse and her had a long and complicated history involving some arrests and long talks like this one, but also fights and snark and even sitting in front of a television and watching Exy games together.

Victoria didn’t know whether she liked him or not, but Longhouse was better than all of the other agents. And she felt closer to him too. 

Her phone rang. She picked up.

“Victoria?” It was Neil. “Where are you?”

“I’m sitting at a bench, enjoying the evening sun.”

“Oh, okay.” He remained silent for some time. “Did Longhouse leave you alone already?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. What did he want?”

“Answers. You know the drill.”

“Yeah.” Neil stayed silent for some time again. “The others were wondering what we should do when he tries to ask us questions.”

“I think they’re smart enough to know. Otherwise, ask Katelyn or Aaron what you should do.”

Neil grumbled. “You make no sense sometime.”

“You make no sense sometime.”

“Nu-uh.”

“Yea-uh.”

“Nu-uh.”

“Yea-uh.”

Neil was laughing. 

Victoria smiled. “Neil?”

“Hm?”

“I’m happy you’re okay.”

“Me too.”

“It was my fault.” Victoria couldn’t hold it in. It escaped before she could stop it.

Neil said nothing. Then: “I know, but it’s alright. You’re not perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. We both learned from this, didn’t we?”

Victoria didn’t answer, pressing Neil to continue.

“You cannot expect yourself to be perfect, no matter how important it is. Also, I’ve survived worse than this.” Victoria could hear him smile. “I forgive you.”

Victoria huffed. “You shouldn’t. You should hate me for being weak.”

“No. My mother would’ve, but I’m not her. And your mother wouldn’t hate you either, now would she?”

How dare he bring that up? Victoria kicked the air. How dare he say something so right, so true? Neil knew he shouldn’t, but he did.

“I forgive you, okay? I won’t blame you for being tired and afraid and it being November.” Neil fell silent again. “Normally I would hate it when other’s told me this, but please go talk to Dobson. She can help you.”

“Nah,” Victoria said, stretching out. “I’ll be fine. I’ll grab some ice cream, okay? Do you guys want any?”

“Andrew won’t say no if you ask him.”

“Okay. Triple chocolate?”

“Yes.”

“See you in a bit.”

When Victoria gave Andrew his ice cream, he just looked at her, said “Don’t think we can be friends again now”, grabbed the ice cream and went to the kitchen to grab a spoon.

Victoria just smiled and left again. Andrew might think he’s a good liar, but he’s most definitely not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> A new face has appeared: Paul Longhouse! Let the fun begin, for it won't be long before the finale.  
> Let me know what you think will happen, or any other thoughts you might have!  
> Until next time <3


	23. Chapter 23

The next game, Neil was still benched because of his stitches. He tried to whine about it, but he received three icy glares from Andrew, Victoria and Abby respectively and a “Not on my watch!” from Wymack, so he just sat on the bench and watched the others play.

They played alright. It was a tie, but Andrew was in the goal now, and guarding it as if his life depended on it. 

Victoria and Kevin were like the wind, going from one point to another as fast as they could and throwing the ball faster than you could follow, if they had gained possession of the ball.

In the last minute, both teams started to up their game to gain that last point to make the score in their favor and win the game. Neil shouted until his throat was hurting, cheering for the Foxes with all the other’s who were benched. 

Victoria had possession of the ball, but her mark was at least twice as tall and coming her way, making sure it were impossible to pass him. Neil cursed her luck, but no-one saw the huge grin Victoria had plastered on her face when her mark closed in.

She was on her fifth step when her mark – Neil forgot his name, but knew he was an asshole and made illegal checks the referees let go since they didn’t look illegal – finished his last step to come close to her and make a body-check. Victoria had calculated this, so she jumped up, much to the surprise of everyone watching.

Using the wall to her right, she used her seventh and eighth step to bypass her mark, making the whole crowd gasp and stare in amazement or horror, for she actually succeeded in it. She used the court’s wall to bypass her mark; no-one had ever done that.

Her ninth step was making sure she didn’t fall when she landed and with the tenth she shot the ball to Kevin, who used the last ten seconds to score, a goal the goalie couldn’t stop because she was still recovering from witnessing such a weird move.

The buzzer rang and the Foxes cheered, gathering around Victoria and lifting her up their shoulders. Victoria was grinning ear to ear, but also a little surprised, as if she hadn’t thought it would work.

After some discussion with the referees, the goal was accepted, since there was no rule you couldn’t use the wall to bypass someone. Their opponents were furious, and none of them actually shook Victoria’s hand, but she was too busy grinning to care.

“Did you see that?” She shouted to Neil when she came out. “I had no idea if that would work, but it did! I’m not sure if I can use it a second time though.”

“You’re both a miracle and a nightmare Mattner,” Wymack said. “But damn it, I’m glad you took the risk.”

Victoria grinned and went to the showers, before reporters could hunt her down to ask her all about what would later be known as the Mattner-Move. 

Neil waited in the lounge for the others to come, when Longhouse appeared, followed by Wymack.

Neil frowned, but Longhouse looked proud and was grinning.

“Victoria isn’t here yet? Oh well, I can wait.” Longhouse sat in another chair, nodding to Neil. “I have to congratulate her. I watched the entire game, and she did good.”

“Why?” Neil asked.

“Well, she used to be-”

“No, why did you come here to watch it?”

Longhouse looked a little surprised. “She hasn’t told you yet? I used to date her mother, or well, her mother had an affair with me. It was just before Victoria’s birth, after which Penelope decided to cut all ties and make sure one of her children had a better childhood. I have also arrested Victoria a few times, and saved her from a few kidnappings. We used to watch Exy in my apartment in Germany, and I picked her up from school sometimes if we needed some information she refused to give us. So, yeah, we have quite the history.”

Neil looked at the man, with his gray eyes and blond hair. With the slim body-build and split between his front teeth. He wondered.

“Fuck off Longhouse!” Victoria said cheerfully when she entered the lounge with Allison, Dan and Renee. “You didn’t come here just to watch the game.”

“I’m just keeping tabs on you. And may I say you did-”

“Nah. Wymack? I’m in the bus if you don’t mind. I’m not sitting here.” And she just left.

Longhouse sighed. “Excuse me while I follow her. She can be quite stubborn at times.”

“Oh don’t we know,” Allison said. “But that’s what I like about her. And hate about her. It’s both funny and frustrating.”

“I think it’s nice to know what you stand for,” Renee mused.

“Yeah, unless it makes you insufferable to deal with when others try to help you.” Allison sighed and sat next to Neil. “It must have been torture for you to just watch and not participate.”

Neil shrugged. It was, but it also allowed him to watch Victoria’s move easier and not in the heat of the game. And that was awesome, making his Exy-heart pump even louder than it already did.

\-----

Victoria just washed her hands and splattered some water in her face, having dodged Longhouse by first going to the toilets while he ran towards the bus and then staying there until she would get texted they had to go and where the hell she was, when she was called.

She fished her phone from her pants and looked who was calling. It was Father. 

Sighing, Victoria picked up. “Hello.”

“You’re doing great Victoria,” Father complimented her. “You somehow still have the Foxes’ trust, and I have not a clue how you do that. I guess you’ve told them?”

“I have.”

“Good. And they still think they’re safe?”

“They do.”

“Good. I do have one minor complaint.” Victoria knew this was coming, but she just listened to what Father had to say. 

“Stop killing my assassins,” he said. “They’re expensive enough. And I thought I had told you not to use snipers?”

“You did.”

“Then how come one of my men was killed by one?”

Victoria grinned. “You came after the Foxes themselves way too early, even if one of them started to figure it out. So I reacted accordingly.”

Father merely sighed. “Fine, just don’t rush things. I can’t come in earlier.”

“I know Father. Have a nice day.” She hung up and sighed.

Right. Get to the finals, make sure the Foxes trust her and then, when they least expect it, strike fast and hard.

Victoria went out of the bathroom and walked to the bus, where Longhouse was talking to Andrew and Neil.

She ignored them as they said her name and tried to let her join their conversation and sat in the far back of the bus, with her headphones on and eyes closed.

She didn’t have the energy to deal with that right now anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for those who have already noticed and got excited; hell yeah, I know how many more chapters it's going to take before this story is over. For those who hadn't noticed already and are asking themselves what the hell I'm talking about: look at where you see the chapters, if you get what I mean (I'm tired and running on coffee, sue me).  
> Anyways, as always: thanks for reading and see you in two weeks!
> 
> PS: shameless self-promotion, but check out my other fics as well! I wrote a cute and fluffy (in my head I read it with Stitch's voice) one-shot with Andreil, my take on what happened with the Foxes while Neil was busy being kidnapped (also known as the Riot but in other people's perspectives) and a fun, still ongoing one where I put these characters in another fandom's world, also known as the Deltora AU (you can also read it if you don't know Deltora, then it's just a fun fantasy/quest AU).


	24. Chapter 24

Longhouse watched the bus go and sighed. Neil and Andrew didn’t spill anything about whatever Victoria was doing here either, while he knew for sure they knew about it. Victoria would tell her ‘brother’ about it if Longhouse were correct about their past relation.

Victoria told him all kinds of stories about her and Neil, about the stupid things they did and the moments they shared. He also knew about Neil’s background as Nathaniel Wesninski, since those files were all over the FBI-archives. Which made it more obvious mister Mattner was mafia too, even if they still had no other evidence than his weird little trips and this maybe-connection.

Still, if there was one thing Longhouse was going to do, it was making Mattner pay for his crimes and get Victoria out as soon as he could. She didn’t belong in that environment.

Longhouse walked back to his car and got in. The only problem was this: they hadn’t been able to catch Mattner yet and the one person that could help them do so, would be Victoria. Or her brother, but Alphonse hasn’t been seen in years.

Penelope told Longhouse he was a shy and quiet boy, with a big intelligence and a kind heart. But of course, everyone was kind in Penelope’s eyes. Her heart was made of gold and her smile never seemed to falter, even when Longhouse told her her husband might be with the mafia. She just laughed and told him he was being silly and her husband was the nicest person she had ever met. This did raise questions as to why she would cheat on him, but Penelope also knew how to dodge questions and one time even shoved a self-made pie in Longhouse’s face when he asked about it. Her laugh still ringed in his ears after all those years.

Just like Victoria and maybe the entire Mattner-family, he missed Penelope every day, but he kept his head up high and just made sure she would be done justice, as he had once received an anonymous tip on his desk telling him Penelope was murdered with poison instead of just died because of a heart-attack. Ever since then, Longhouse did everything he could to make sure Victoria got out of that world before she was murdered too and Alfred Mattner would pay for his crimes: all of them.

For if they could charge him guilty for one crime, they’d surely be able to charge him for all of the others.

\-----

William was looking happy as ever when Victoria called him. 

“Hey sweetie,” he said in Dutch. “How are you?”

“I diffused another bomb just an hour ago, so I guess I’m fine.” Victoria smiled. “I didn’t blow to pieces.”

“I’d kill you if you did.”

“You can’t even kill a fly.”

“Do you know how fast those little bastards are? I swear, it’s like they can read your mind and know when and where you’ll hit them next.”

Victoria laughed. “Not what I meant, but sure.”

William smiled back. “How are the matches going? Any chance we’ll see the now famous Mattner-Move again?”

Victoria huffed. “Why did they have to call it that? And no, I will not do it again. I got lucky.”

“You should quit Exy and start doing parkour.”

“Ha ha ha. Very funny.” Victoria put her poker-face on.

William laughed, long and loud. Victoria wanted to capture that laugh and replay it whenever. When she was happy. When she was sad. When she missed him again. When she wanted it all to stop again. When she wanted people to stop doing whatever.

But for now she just smiled and asked William how he was, which prompted William to start a crazy story about his math teacher being a dick to him. Victoria wished moments like these could go on forever, that time would stop here and just replay the past few minutes every time. 

But it couldn’t. Life went on and didn’t just stop for one person. No matter how much that person wished it would or could.

\-----

The next month Neil healed up and got into Exy again, even though Victoria told him to be careful.

The others thought since the media was all over them and they winning-streak, they’d be safer, but as it turned out, all this attention had two sides. One of which was questions about his recent stab-wounds.

Neil dodged every question he received, but the reporters were not born yesterday. Fortunately for Neil, Victoria wasn’t either.

He and Victoria were on press-duty after their recent win, and so far the reporters did nothing but ask them about the game.

Then, one had to bring it up of course. “Josten, how are the recent scars doing? Did one of your father’s old friends made them?”

Victoria smiled, and while Neil opened his mouth to answer as he had been told to — ‘no comment’, Wymack didn’t want him to roast the press and turn them against the Foxes — she put her hand to his mouth.

“He had a little accident in the kitchen, trying to cook something. I could tell you about all the blood coming out and go on and on about the complaints the nurses received from Neil when they told him he couldn’t play Exy, but I think those will not fill your needs.” Victoria’s devil-grin was back on her face. “So, he almost got kidnapped and killed while he was on his morning-run, and it wasn’t done by one of his father’s old goons, but by an assassin hired by my father, the alleged famous businessman who owns almost the entire world. Does that story satisfy your need for blood? Or do you want me to make it more juicy?”

The reporter was baffled. Neil almost laughed, but he kept a straight face and tried to make his lips stop curling up.

Victoria nodded. “So, are there any other questions I have to lie about? I’d love to make you happy you know.”

Neil knew for sure now Victoria was going to be banned from press-duty by Wymack, but she probably didn’t care.

As they entered the lounge, Wymack had already started to bark at Victoria, who just looked at her coach, gave him her thumbs up and told him she’d rather have them stop asking about it, since it could make Longhouse suspicious.

“As if he couldn’t figure it out by out by just listening to what you said! You basically served him the truth on a golden platter!” Wymack sighed and shook his head. “Honestly, what do I have to do with you?”

“Give us golden careers and a future, coach.” Victoria waited a beat. “And Longhouse cannot use it as evidence, since I also said I lied to the press to fill their needs, so… He can eat his hat for all I care.”

“I liked her story,” Allison said. “It was juicy. And very thoughtful. Nicely imagined Victoria.”

“Thanks Allison. I liked what my mind came up with too.”

“You do realize it’s impossible to be a cooking accident with where the knives struck, right?” Andrew asked.

“The reporters can only see the one on his arm, and honestly, that could be from a cooking accident. I mean, it’s not like they know how awful Neil is in the kitchen.”

“I’m not awful...” Neil protested, but Victoria huffed.

“Right, that one time you set the oven on fire trying to make cookies happens to every professional. I believe you.”

“He set an oven on fire trying to make… cookies?” Nicky asked. “Neil? The only person who doesn’t seem to like sweets?”

“Yep, that person.” Victoria left out those cookies were for her, as she had received a beating from her father and Neil wanted to cheer her up. And that it was a tiny fire. The oven was fine after the fire had been put out.

Nicky sighed. “Neil, I’m going to teach you how to properly use an oven now. You’re almost twenty now, so you should know as a responsible adult.”

Victoria almost spat out her drink. Neil kicked her in the leg to stop her from commenting, so she just chuckled and shook her head.

Andrew pinched Neil’s side to make him look at him again. Neil huffed and asked yes or no before leaning his head on Andrew’s shoulders. Public displays of affections were rare, but became more frequent with just the Foxes around. Neil liked it, but he wasn’t going to take more than Andrew gave him either. 

He closed his eyes and smiled. Maybe this could end in a ‘happy ever after’ after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and see you in two weeks! uwu


	25. Chapter 25

As the Foxes won more and more matches and came closer and closer to the finals, Victoria felt herself getting more and more restless and jumpy.

Allison tried to cheer her up by taking her shopping and do just normal girl-stuff, but while Victoria appreciated her attempts, they did nothing but make her more nervous.

She never had the chance to be ‘normal’, for she wasn’t like that. She was the daughter of one of the biggest mob-bosses in Europe, a title she just couldn’t get rid of by pretending to be normal. Victoria felt like people saw just by looking at her, by glancing in her gray eyes and seeing all of the crimes she had committed in Father’s name. By seeing her tense shoulders, or the blood splattered on her hands from her many, many victims. Or maybe even felt it by just being near her.

Neil told her it was nonsense, that she was making it up, but Victoria wasn’t so sure about it. She had to safe his life trice more, and twice that of the other Foxes. Once by defusing a bomb under the Court, and once by making them slow down while exiting the bus, which prevented them from becoming one with the staged riot a few minutes later. They all looked pale after that, and the game was canceled because Wymack had shouted against the referees and police officers for having the riot happen in the first place and that no, none of his Foxes were in the right space of mind, and they could surely understand if they knew what had happened last year during a riot. 

Andrew had looked at Victoria, but she didn’t show anything on her face. He wasn’t the only one who could put up an apathetic mask. 

So when Neil’s birthday rolled around, Victoria found herself face to face with Longhouse yet again, in a coffee-shop this time. 

“Why do you insist on following and controlling me?” she asked.

“I do not. I just have a job to do, and I’d like to protect you from whatever horrors you’re in right now. You can escape them, you know?”

Yes, she knew. Neil was living proof you could only have loose ties and be as free as you can be with having to pay the mafia eighty percent of your earnings, doing something you love. Which is why he had to stay alive. And why she couldn’t possibly accept Longhouse’s offer.

Victoria smiled. “I don’t have to escape anything. Father is a businessman who lets me play Exy with the best team of the United States, since they’re the only ones who were able to beat the Ravens, with even less players.”

“And yet you insistently call him ‘father’ instead of by his name, ‘my father’ or even ‘dad’.” Longhouse smiled sadly. “It sounds like it was beaten into you somehow.”

“I can also just like to call him that way. No need to jump to conclusions Longhouse.”

Longhouse sighed. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

Silence. Then, Victoria sighed. 

“Why are you so… intent on… you know.” She gestured in the air. “Talking to me and stuff. It’s weird.”

“I’d just like to get to know you better.”

“But why?”

“I just like you. Isn’t that reason enough?”

Victoria huffed and rolled her eyes. “No. It makes creepy, to be honest.”

“Fine.” Longhouse leaned over, smiling. “Your mother asked me to keep an eye on you, if you want the honest truth. So I am.”

“You’re still into her, aren’t you?”

Longhouse leaned back and shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.”

“You are.” Victoria grinned. “Well, then I guess I have less reason to hate you.”

With that, she stood up and left, after paying for her own coffee and leaving the tip to Longhouse, who just smiled and took another sip of his coffee.

It might not be much, but it was progress.

\-----

The semi-finals rolled around, and the Foxes were up against USC Colombia. It was a hard game, but in the end, the Foxes managed to win thanks to Kevin’s impossible pass to Neil who shot the ball in the goal just before the buzzer marked the end of the game. 

Victoria hadn’t scored anything or did something stupidly reckless to pass the ball, but then again, she wasn’t on the Court for that long. Ten minutes in she had to switch back because her mark had pushed her into the courtwall and sprained her wrist. She wanted to continue, but Wymack forbade her and Allison promised her she would make sure she’d regret it if she even suggested it again, so Victoria just watched and let Abby do her job.

After the game, the Foxes wanted to celebrate, but both Victoria and Andrew weren’t feeling like it. Andrew still went though, since his idiot went as well, but after some time he left to smoke on the roof.

Neil saw him leave and made a mental note to follow soon, but then his attention was caught by a very drunk Matt who insisted on playing this game with Neil.

Andrew got to the roof and saw Victoria standing on the edge, looking down. 

“Hey Andrew,” she said, turning around and jumping to the rooftop. “I was just wondering if you’d fall to your death if you’d jump from up here.”

“Do you have suicidal thoughts or are you planning to use it against someone?” If she even _dared_ to try to push Neil off the edge here…

“Neither and both at once. How about that?” Victoria smiled. “No, seriously, I was just wondering.”

Andrew didn’t believe her. She was too wrapped up in lies and mysteries. Maybe he needed to ask her some questions again.

“Can you tell me where all of this is going?” 

Victoria frowned. “Where what is going?”

“This plan of yours. Saving Neil. Where will it lead us?”

“Us?” Victoria smiled. “It will lead us nowhere. It will lead Neil to life and it will lead you to a happy ever after together. It will lead the Foxes to another victory in the finals, if we play well that is. It will lead me to have peace of mind.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed, just slightly. “Peace how?”

“Just peace. I will know Neil has made it, that he will continue to live out his days until he dies of an old age with a lot of Exy and you in his past instead of terrible memories.” Victoria stared at the sunset, smiling slightly.

“You don’t think you will make it.”

Victoria didn’t answer. She just stared, so Andrew stared with her, not knowing how to feel about this.

On the one hand he didn’t really care whether Victoria lived or died, as long as Neil and his family did, but on the other hand… Neil saw her as his little sister, and that would technically make her family. He would probably be bummed out if she died.

Andrew decided to let his apathy win and put it off his mind, offering Victoria some of the whiskey he had brought with him. 

They were drinking together when Neil arrived, who smiled at the sight before him.

“That’s my clue to leave,” Victoria said, sitting up. 

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, as she was a little tipsy from the whiskey. She patted Neil on his shoulder before she went downstairs, probably to sleep it off in her room.

“Did I interrupt something?” Neil asked, sitting next to Andrew.

“No.”

Neil shrugged. “Just asking.”

“148%.”

“Oh.” Neil grinned. “When do you think I will reach the 200?”

“149, going 150.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoooooooooooo!  
> We're getting there! I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS!!!!  
> Anyways, thanks for reading <3


	26. Chapter 26

As the Foxes won more and more matches and came closer and closer to the finals, Victoria felt herself getting more and more restless and jumpy.

Allison tried to cheer her up by taking her shopping and do just normal girl-stuff, but while Victoria appreciated her attempts, they did nothing but make her more nervous.

She never had the chance to be ‘normal’, for she wasn’t like that. She was the daughter of one of the biggest mob-bosses in Europe, a title she just couldn’t get rid of by pretending to be normal. Victoria felt like people saw just by looking at her, by glancing in her gray eyes and seeing all of the crimes she had committed in Father’s name. By seeing her tense shoulders, or the blood splattered on her hands from her many, many victims. Or maybe even felt it by just being near her.

Neil told her it was nonsense, that she was making it up, but Victoria wasn’t so sure about it. She had to safe his life trice more, and twice that of the other Foxes. Once by defusing a bomb under the Court, and once by making them slow down while exiting the bus, which prevented them from becoming one with the staged riot a few minutes later. They all looked pale after that, and the game was canceled because Wymack had shouted against the referees and police officers for having the riot happen in the first place and that no, none of his Foxes were in the right space of mind, and they could surely understand if they knew what had happened last year during a riot. 

Andrew had looked at Victoria, but she didn’t show anything on her face. He wasn’t the only one who could put up an apathetic mask. 

So when Neil’s birthday rolled around, Victoria found herself face to face with Longhouse yet again, in a coffee-shop this time. 

“Why do you insist on following and controlling me?” she asked.

“I do not. I just have a job to do, and I’d like to protect you from whatever horrors you’re in right now. You can escape them, you know?”

Yes, she knew. Neil was living proof you could only have loose ties and be as free as you can be with having to pay the mafia eighty percent of your earnings, doing something you love. Which is why he had to stay alive. And why she couldn’t possibly accept Longhouse’s offer.

Victoria smiled. “I don’t have to escape anything. Father is a businessman who lets me play Exy with the best team of the United States, since they’re the only ones who were able to beat the Ravens, with even less players.”

“And yet you insistently call him ‘father’ instead of by his name, ‘my father’ or even ‘dad’.” Longhouse smiled sadly. “It sounds like it was beaten into you somehow.”

“I can also just like to call him that way. No need to jump to conclusions Longhouse.”

Longhouse sighed. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

Silence. Then, Victoria sighed. 

“Why are you so… intent on… you know.” She gestured in the air. “Talking to me and stuff. It’s weird.”

“I’d just like to get to know you better.”

“But why?”

“I just like you. Isn’t that reason enough?”

Victoria huffed and rolled her eyes. “No. It makes creepy, to be honest.”

“Fine.” Longhouse leaned over, smiling. “Your mother asked me to keep an eye on you, if you want the honest truth. So I am.”

“You’re still into her, aren’t you?”

Longhouse leaned back and shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.”

“You are.” Victoria grinned. “Well, then I guess I have less reason to hate you.”

With that, she stood up and left, after paying for her own coffee and leaving the tip to Longhouse, who just smiled and took another sip of his coffee.

It might not be much, but it was progress.

\-----

The semi-finals rolled around, and the Foxes were up against USC Colombia. It was a hard game, but in the end, the Foxes managed to win thanks to Kevin’s impossible pass to Neil who shot the ball in the goal just before the buzzer marked the end of the game. 

Victoria hadn’t scored anything or did something stupidly reckless to pass the ball, but then again, she wasn’t on the Court for that long. Ten minutes in she had to switch back because her mark had pushed her into the courtwall and sprained her wrist. She wanted to continue, but Wymack forbade her and Allison promised her she would make sure she’d regret it if she even suggested it again, so Victoria just watched and let Abby do her job.

After the game, the Foxes wanted to celebrate, but both Victoria and Andrew weren’t feeling like it. Andrew still went though, since his idiot went as well, but after some time he left to smoke on the roof.

Neil saw him leave and made a mental note to follow soon, but then his attention was caught by a very drunk Matt who insisted on playing this game with Neil.

Andrew got to the roof and saw Victoria standing on the edge, looking down. 

“Hey Andrew,” she said, turning around and jumping to the rooftop. “I was just wondering if you’d fall to your death if you’d jump from up here.”

“Do you have suicidal thoughts or are you planning to use it against someone?” If she even _dared_ to try to push Neil off the edge here…

“Neither and both at once. How about that?” Victoria smiled. “No, seriously, I was just wondering.”

Andrew didn’t believe her. She was too wrapped up in lies and mysteries. Maybe he needed to ask her some questions again.

“Can you tell me where all of this is going?” 

Victoria frowned. “Where what is going?”

“This plan of yours. Saving Neil. Where will it lead us?”

“Us?” Victoria smiled. “It will lead us nowhere. It will lead Neil to life and it will lead you to a happy ever after together. It will lead the Foxes to another victory in the finals, if we play well that is. It will lead me to have peace of mind.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed, just slightly. “Peace how?”

“Just peace. I will know Neil has made it, that he will continue to live out his days until he dies of an old age with a lot of Exy and you in his past instead of terrible memories.” Victoria stared at the sunset, smiling slightly.

“You don’t think you will make it.”

Victoria didn’t answer. She just stared, so Andrew stared with her, not knowing how to feel about this.

On the one hand he didn’t really care whether Victoria lived or died, as long as Neil and his family did, but on the other hand… Neil saw her as his little sister, and that would technically make her family. He would probably be bummed out if she died.

Andrew decided to let his apathy win and put it off his mind, offering Victoria some of the whiskey he had brought with him. 

They were drinking together when Neil arrived, who smiled at the sight before him.

“That’s my clue to leave,” Victoria said, sitting up. 

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, as she was a little tipsy from the whiskey. She patted Neil on his shoulder before she went downstairs, probably to sleep it off in her room.

“Did I interrupt something?” Neil asked, sitting next to Andrew.

“No.”

Neil shrugged. “Just asking.”

“148%.”

“Oh.” Neil grinned. “When do you think I will reach the 200?”

“149, going 150.”


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo, apparently this has been sitting as a draft for quite some time. I have no idea why and how and since when, but when I wanted to post another chapter I was surprised to find this. And decided to post this one first.  
> Sooooooooooo... I guess I'm just an idiot. Yay.

As the Foxes won more and more matches and came closer and closer to the finals, Victoria felt herself getting more and more restless and jumpy.

Allison tried to cheer her up by taking her shopping and do just normal girl-stuff, but while Victoria appreciated her attempts, they did nothing but make her more nervous.

She never had the chance to be ‘normal’, for she wasn’t like that. She was the daughter of one of the biggest mob-bosses in Europe, a title she just couldn’t get rid of by pretending to be normal. Victoria felt like people saw just by looking at her, by glancing in her gray eyes and seeing all of the crimes she had committed in Father’s name. By seeing her tense shoulders, or the blood splattered on her hands from her many, many victims. Or maybe even felt it by just being near her.

Neil told her it was nonsense, that she was making it up, but Victoria wasn’t so sure about it. She had to safe his life trice more, and twice that of the other Foxes. Once by defusing a bomb under the Court, and once by making them slow down while exiting the bus, which prevented them from becoming one with the staged riot a few minutes later. They all looked pale after that, and the game was canceled because Wymack had shouted against the referees and police officers for having the riot happen in the first place and that no, none of his Foxes were in the right space of mind, and they could surely understand if they knew what had happened last year during a riot. 

Andrew had looked at Victoria, but she didn’t show anything on her face. He wasn’t the only one who could put up an apathetic mask. 

So when Neil’s birthday rolled around, Victoria found herself face to face with Longhouse yet again, in a coffee-shop this time. 

“Why do you insist on following and controlling me?” she asked.

“I do not. I just have a job to do, and I’d like to protect you from whatever horrors you’re in right now. You can escape them, you know?”

Yes, she knew. Neil was living proof you could only have loose ties and be as free as you can be with having to pay the mafia eighty percent of your earnings, doing something you love. Which is why he had to stay alive. And why she couldn’t possibly accept Longhouse’s offer.

Victoria smiled. “I don’t have to escape anything. Father is a businessman who lets me play Exy with the best team of the United States, since they’re the only ones who were able to beat the Ravens, with even less players.”

“And yet you insistently call him ‘father’ instead of by his name, ‘my father’ or even ‘dad’.” Longhouse smiled sadly. “It sounds like it was beaten into you somehow.”

“I can also just like to call him that way. No need to jump to conclusions Longhouse.”

Longhouse sighed. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

Silence. Then, Victoria sighed. 

“Why are you so… intent on… you know.” She gestured in the air. “Talking to me and stuff. It’s weird.”

“I’d just like to get to know you better.”

“But why?”

“I just like you. Isn’t that reason enough?”

Victoria huffed and rolled her eyes. “No. It makes creepy, to be honest.”

“Fine.” Longhouse leaned over, smiling. “Your mother asked me to keep an eye on you, if you want the honest truth. So I am.”

“You’re still into her, aren’t you?”

Longhouse leaned back and shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.”

“You are.” Victoria grinned. “Well, then I guess I have less reason to hate you.”

With that, she stood up and left, after paying for her own coffee and leaving the tip to Longhouse, who just smiled and took another sip of his coffee.

It might not be much, but it was progress.

\-----

The semi-finals rolled around, and the Foxes were up against USC Colombia. It was a hard game, but in the end, the Foxes managed to win thanks to Kevin’s impossible pass to Neil who shot the ball in the goal just before the buzzer marked the end of the game. 

Victoria hadn’t scored anything or did something stupidly reckless to pass the ball, but then again, she wasn’t on the Court for that long. Ten minutes in she had to switch back because her mark had pushed her into the courtwall and sprained her wrist. She wanted to continue, but Wymack forbade her and Allison promised her she would make sure she’d regret it if she even suggested it again, so Victoria just watched and let Abby do her job.

After the game, the Foxes wanted to celebrate, but both Victoria and Andrew weren’t feeling like it. Andrew still went though, since his idiot went as well, but after some time he left to smoke on the roof.

Neil saw him leave and made a mental note to follow soon, but then his attention was caught by a very drunk Matt who insisted on playing this game with Neil.

Andrew got to the roof and saw Victoria standing on the edge, looking down. 

“Hey Andrew,” she said, turning around and jumping to the rooftop. “I was just wondering if you’d fall to your death if you’d jump from up here.”

“Do you have suicidal thoughts or are you planning to use it against someone?” If she even _dared_ to try to push Neil off the edge here…

“Neither and both at once. How about that?” Victoria smiled. “No, seriously, I was just wondering.”

Andrew didn’t believe her. She was too wrapped up in lies and mysteries. Maybe he needed to ask her some questions again.

“Can you tell me where all of this is going?” 

Victoria frowned. “Where what is going?”

“This plan of yours. Saving Neil. Where will it lead us?”

“Us?” Victoria smiled. “It will lead us nowhere. It will lead Neil to life and it will lead you to a happy ever after together. It will lead the Foxes to another victory in the finals, if we play well that is. It will lead me to have peace of mind.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed, just slightly. “Peace how?”

“Just peace. I will know Neil has made it, that he will continue to live out his days until he dies of an old age with a lot of Exy and you in his past instead of terrible memories.” Victoria stared at the sunset, smiling slightly.

“You don’t think you will make it.”

Victoria didn’t answer. She just stared, so Andrew stared with her, not knowing how to feel about this.

On the one hand he didn’t really care whether Victoria lived or died, as long as Neil and his family did, but on the other hand… Neil saw her as his little sister, and that would technically make her family. He would probably be bummed out if she died.

Andrew decided to let his apathy win and put it off his mind, offering Victoria some of the whiskey he had brought with him. 

They were drinking together when Neil arrived, who smiled at the sight before him.

“That’s my clue to leave,” Victoria said, sitting up. 

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, as she was a little tipsy from the whiskey. She patted Neil on his shoulder before she went downstairs, probably to sleep it off in her room.

“Did I interrupt something?” Neil asked, sitting next to Andrew.

“No.”

Neil shrugged. “Just asking.”

“148%.”

“Oh.” Neil grinned. “When do you think I will reach the 200?”

“149, going 150.”


	28. Chapter 28

Victoria looked at William through her screen. She missed him, with his stupidly brown eyes and messy hair. She wanted to sit in his lap and let the world disappear, to stop worrying about the plan and all of its next steps. 

He didn’t know she thought she might not make it, but as she listened to him tell animatedly about all she was missing in his life, Victoria felt like it would be a bad moment to bring that up. He might know a lot about all of this, as he was one of the only persons she trusted, but even he didn’t know everything.

“So… Finals next week huh? Against the Ravens of all teams.” William said, forcing Victoria to put her mind off.

“Hm? Yeah. Whoo-hoo.”

“You don’t sound that excited.”

“Of course I’m not. It’s the finals; The Finals, in capital letters.” Victoria sighed. “The Finale.”

William smiled. “It’ll be fine.”

Victoria smiled back. “If all goes well that is.”

“It will.”

“But what if it won’t?”

“Don’t you dare jinx it.”

Victoria laughed. “Oops.”

William sighed. “Well, see you then.” He grinned and winked at her. “At the finals!”

Victoria was confused, but decided not to ask. They said their goodbyes and closed off. Then Victoria did some homework and stretched. Time for some planning to be done.

\-----

Neil was excited for the final match. Andrew could almost see the excitement radiating off him, while they sat at the roof in the evening.

They had been making out before, so Neil’s cheeks were also flushed a little, and his lips red and swollen. It was not attractive and distracting.

“Do you think we’ll see the end of the year Andrew?” Neil then asked.

Andrew humphed and looked the other way. “We better.”

Victoria had said they could have their happy ever after, and though it sounded cheesy as can be and annoying, Andrew really wanted it to be true. 

Neil grinned. “If we make it, I wanna go to on a holiday again, but just the two of us. No one else.”

“No Exy?”

“How do you want to play Exy with just two people?”

“Not like that you junkie.”

Neil laughed as Andrew shoved him softly, and after a ‘yes or no’ they were making out again, Neil pinned to the concrete as Andrew topped.

Andrew looked at Neil when they sat up again, while Neil watched the stars and the moon above them. He really, really didn’t want to miss out on that holiday now.

Just the two of them. It sounded like Andrew’s worst nightmare and best dream.

\-----

Allison knew how to cheer Victoria up. They had been a little rough after the whole Neil-was-stabbed-weren’t-you-on-protect-Neil-modus?-fiasco, but Allison and Victoria had talked about it a lot, and the other girl had opened up a little more, telling Allison about her kidnappings and showing her the scar that resulted from one, explaining she was never in the right headspace in November.

So after that, Victoria and Allison were friends again and went shopping from time to time, to roast other people they saw in the mall. Nicky also went with sometimes, just as Renee, but where Renee would tell them to be a little less mean, Nicky joined them in their roasts and made it a lot more fun.

But today they did none of that. Allison felt Victoria was tense, so she knew something was up.

“So, ready to tell me what horrible stuff happened this month or nah?” Allison asked when they grabbed some coffee.

Victoria smiled. “Nothing bad had happened in these months. Not yet anyways.”

Allison knew how to pick up a hint. “The plan is coming to an end.”

“Maybe.”

“So the do or die is coming soon.”

“Possibly.”

“What can we do to help?”

Victoria smiled mischievously. “Win the finals against the Ravens.”

“Will do. I don’t get how they ended up there anyways, so we have to show them who’s boss anyways.”

Victoria smiled and looked at the masses. Winning would be nice to do; it would make it all go off with a big bang.

She was getting nervous. Her brother and she had prepared for this, but nothing really went according to plan up until now. The plan had been sped up after Aaron’s abduction and Neil’s stabbing and the other things that happened and threatened the Foxes. She wondered how much would change about the endgame.

“Hey,” Allison said, snapping her fingers in front of Victoria’s face. “You still there?”

“Yeah. Sorry. Just a little stressed.”

Allison said nothing. She observed the tiny blonde, whose eyes were staring into the distance again. 

“I have an idea,” Victoria then suddenly said. “Why don’t we fix some gifts for everyone, for getting this far. Oh no, let’s give Wymack something fun, to thank him for helping us get this far and putting up with our shit every time.”

Allison frowned. “Sure? But why though? We never did something like that before.”

“That’s why,” Victoria said, getting up and smiling wickedly. “It’s gotta be memorable now though, to thank him for every year you dumbasses didn’t give him a gift.”

Allison had no idea where this idea originated, but decided to go along with it. Besides, Wymack’s surprised face when Victoria handed him the giant stuffed animal of a fox they had found in a toy-store was more than worth it.

\-----

Longhouse was surprised to get a text from Victoria. ‘You know, I actually did kind of like you. As a second father, you always took care of me and made me feel a little better when I was down. So thank you, for just being you.’

It was a strange text, but it worried Longhouse to the bone. So he texted back: ‘You’re like a daughter to me too Victoria, but why this sudden text?’

She didn’t reply. Longhouse looked at the clock. Maybe he could still be in time to go to the finals to have a talk with Victoria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO CHAPTERS???? Yes, and as you might have noticed already, this is the mark to the beginning of the end.   
> We're almost there dear readers! Whooooooooooooooo!!!  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you next time!


	29. Chapter 29

Their first game against the Ravens after Riko’s death. Neil found it hard to believe they came this far, since the Ravens were more chaotic since they got a new coach and captain. The finals were impressive. Maybe it was because the Ravens already had great players.

Victoria was watching the crowd, grimly. “Let’s play a little game of ‘I spy with my little eye...’ I spy… five.”

Andrew glanced over. “Where?”

“Scattered. There’s a woman with a Fox-shirt with an orange paw and orange hair on the left. Two rows beneath her is a man with a horn and beer, the brown-haired one. On the other side we have a goth, male, complete with make-up and an all-black outfit. Five rows up is a male with sunglasses and a shirt with ‘Go Ravens’ in red. To his left is a woman with a gigantic raven painted on her face.” Victoria stopped talking, staring at the woman with the raven on her face.

Neil looked up and saw someone he didn’t think he’d recognize after all these years. Victoria’s father had come.

“Your father,” Neil said, to help Andrew gain the information. “Next to the woman. Does this mean this is the end?”

Victoria didn’t answer. She did look a little pale though, which couldn’t mean anything good.

“Hey guys! Checking the crowd?” Nicky slung his arms over Neil and Victoria’s shoulders.

“Yeah,” Victoria said softly. “It’s enormous.”

Neil said nothing, thinking about mister Mattner and him being here. Today was the day this would all end, one way or another.

“I know right? It’s awesome. They’ll all get to see us succeed at winning the cup again.” Nicky grinned.

He wanted to add something, but Wymack interrupted.

“Nicky? Victoria? There are two people who’d like to see you.” He sounded a little smug.

Victoria and Nicky turned around. Andrew silently grabbed his knives and Neil felt the tension swift.

“Coming!” Nicky dragged Victoria with him.

Victoria wanted to stay, but her curiosity and Nicky pulling her along made her investigate who was coming to meet them.

Then she saw a familiar streak of messy, brown hair in the crowd of Foxes. She heard a familiar voice and her heart almost stopped.

“Erik?” Nicky asked, and then, enthusiastically: “Erik!”

Victoria was faster. She dropped her stick and helmet and ran as fast as she could. The brown-haired man saw her coming and readied himself.

“Will!” she said happily, jumping into his waiting arms.

William laughed when he caught her, twirling around once and held her close.

Victoria couldn’t think of one moment she had been happier in her entire life. Will was here! Will came to her, came to see her play! She…

Suddenly she felt all the happiness drain out of her. She’d get to see him before she marched to her probable death.

“Hey Tory,” William said softly, and he pressed a kiss against her temple. “I missed you.”

Victoria felt tears coming up, but she forced them back down. She couldn’t help her emotions changing her voice though. “I missed you too.”

“Aaaww, don’t cry.” William put a hand on her cheek to look her in the eyes. “It’s okay.”

_No_ , Victoria wanted to say. _It’s not okay_. But she just smiled, a smile she knew wouldn’t work on him.

So before he could ask, she pulled him into a long, emotional kiss.

She heard the Foxes coo behind her, but she didn’t care. All she cared about were Williams hands lifting her up, his lips on hers and her hands in his already messy hair.

When they let go, she smiled genuinely. “How did you get here?”

“I worked hard to afford tickets. Me and Erik had been planning this for a while though, so you shouldn’t just credit me.” William smiled before he switched to Dutch, his native language. “I watched all your games. You are incredible. I had to say that in person. And I wanted to kiss you again of course.”

Victoria giggled. She put her nose next to his and rubbed her thumb against over his jawbone. Only now she realized how much she had missed him.

“So that’s William.” Neil came to stand beside the Foxes, smiling fondly.

William put Victoria on the ground again, but they didn’t let go, so he had to take her along to shake Neil’s hand.

“Neil Josten,” he said. “Big fan. And I know you were kind of Victoria’s brother once. She was really fond of you.”

“Will!” Victoria whined. “You’re embarrassing me!”

“How could I possibly embarrass you?”

“By saying things like that you moron! Oh my God.”

William laughed and kissed her cheek. “I love you.”

“Me too,” Victoria muttered.

Neil looked at the two of them. Andrew was stoic as ever, but Victoria knew he was happy it was William and not some assassin coming to kill Neil and her in the last possible moment before the game.

“We got VIP-tickets from your coach,” Erik explained to Nicky, who was holding his lover too. “I contacted him and he said: if you can get the tickets, I will make them VIP’s.”

William smiled. “It was like a dream come true.”

“Dreamy much?” Victoria teased.

“Shut up.” William kissed her again. “I missed you okay?”

“Missed you too. But we called every day, didn’t we?”

“Oh so that’s what you did.” Allison grinned. “Sneaky girl. We wanted to talk to William too.”

“And why do you think I wouldn’t let you?” Victoria shot back. “You’d spoil him. He doesn’t need to be spoiled.”

“I’m already spoiled,” William added. “By her.”

Victoria pinched him in the stomach.

“Ow.” William laughed. “Meany,” he said in Dutch.

“You asked for it,” she said back, also in Dutch. “Also: how long and where are you staying?”

“I’ll be here for a week, and me and Erik are staying in a hotel nearby, so we can visit every day if we want.”

Victoria smiled. “That’s great.” She fell silent for a while, thinking how to phrase the next thing she was going to say. “My mission is almost at its end. The last moves will be made during and after the game tonight.”

William lit up. “That’s great!”

Victoria smiled, knowing William would see through. “This might be the last time we see each other. You can’t follow me into the girls’ locker room.”

Luckily, William was a great actor. his smile didn’t falter, even though his eyes didn’t smile along. “You mean…”

“Exactly.”

William was silent for some time. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Victoria kissed him once more, knowing this might be their last kiss.

It was like they were saying goodbye for forever. Victoria’s heart broke, but she kept her emotions locked up and kissed until her lips were swollen.

They let go and William held her close to him, kissing her hair and rubbing her back. She felt his sadness, but they both knew the risks. How this might end. Hope was a feeble thing, but Victoria had lost it long ago. Knowing William though, he’d hold on to that last bit as if his life depended on it. Which it might.

“Okay! That’s it! Foxes! To the court! Visitors! To the VIP!” Wymack shouted. “The game is about to start!”

Victoria hugged William once more, while Dan made the Foxes chant their new made-up chant and jogged over towards the Court. She didn’t want to let go, but she had to.

“I love you with every cell in my body, from the ends of the universe and back. Please let me go.” She wanted those to be her last words to him and him alone, so she spoke Dutch again.

“Me too,” William replied in Dutch. “But please don’t ask me to let you go. You’re my everything Tory. I don’t want to lose you yet.”

She smiled and let go. Before anyone could say anything, she grabbed her gear and put on her helmet.

It felt like she was leaving her heart behind.

William reached out to his girlfriend, but she didn’t turn back. He knew he and Erik had to go take their seat, but he wanted to run back to her and beg her to run, before it was too late. Beg her to stay alive, to grab her and kidnap her to a place her father would never be able to find her and he wouldn’t lose her.

Erik smiled at him. “I missed Nicky too. This was a great idea, wasn’t it?”

William blinked away his tears and smiled back, but his heart wasn’t in it.

No. His heart was walking towards the court to play one last game of Exy before executing the last steps of her plan. A plan which was way too risky, for the chances of her not making it out alive were enormous.

He wanted to scream, to grab a gun or a knife or any other deadly object and kill whoever could harm his girl himself.

But all he could do was watch her go and pray for the best. To keep clinging onto that last thread of hope that everything would be alright.

And he hated it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> HAPPY 2020!  
> I don't think I said it already in my other ongoing fic, Deltora Quest. So here you go!  
> WILLIAM IS HEEEEEEEERREEEEE! I cannot express how much I like this guy.   
> Also: Victoria's father appeared! DUNDUNDUUUUUNNN
> 
> Anyways, I hope you like this new chapter uwu  
> Lots Of Love <3


	30. Chapter 30

Victoria put heart and soul into this last game, but even then it was difficult to beat the Ravens. They might not be in their prime, but it was still difficult to beat them.

The only fun thing happening was Neil bouncing the ball on the ground before smashing instead of grabbing and throwing it towards the goal, scoring. It would seem he had learned a trick or two from her after all.

It must be dreading for him too, knowing the end was coming, but not knowing whether that meant his end or Father’s end or both. He had no idea of the plan from here, the plan of plans, the finale.

Victoria had to make sure he stayed alive though. He was the only living proof she knew of it being possible to escape the mafia and living life as he wanted. Yes, he might not be entirely free from the mafia, with the Moriyama’s looming over him and waiting for the days they could take eighty percent of his earnings as a pro. But at least he was free to do as he pleased apart from that, and luckily for Neil playing Exy was something he longed for, so the promise to the Moriyama’s was easy. He set an example for other children trapped in that cruel world with no way to escape. Children like Victoria, who wanted to break free and fly, but found their wings had been chained down.

The game ended with 5-3, Foxes favor. The others went wild when the final buzzer sounded.

Victoria felt empty though, and only stared from a distance how the others flung themselves in each other’s arms and celebrated their victory.

Allison dragged her along after a while, cheering and yelling, but even then Victoria felt as if she was watching from a distance. They had so much to live for, without a care in the world. So she just repeated their cheers, like a broken record.

Dan and Andrew — after some persuasion from both Wymack and Neil, and maybe a little from Victoria by staring him down — took press-duty, which marked the end of this game and the beginning of the endgame, to put it poetically.

Victoria showered and changed quickly, but she didn’t leave yet. Instead, she sat down on the bench and waited. When Allison — and Renee, looking a little hot — came out and started putting on her clothes, Victoria spoke to her.

“Al?”

Allison must have heard the dread in Victoria’s voice, for she looked up concerned.

“Listen very carefully.” Victoria had found her strength again and spoke determined. “When they come for me, do not try to do anything. Don’t protest, don’t struggle, just watch it happen.”

Renee watched them curiously, eyebrows in a frown.

“Protect them,” Victoria told her. “But do not try to engage.”

Renee nodded, but she still looked confused. Victoria turned to Allison again.

“I want you to promise me something,” she said before Allison could comment.

Allison waited. “Do not ask me to do the impossible.”

“Oh no, it’s an easy promise.” Victoria smiled. “When I’m gone, count to a hundred before running to the boy’s locker rooms.”

Allison frowned. “That’s… Why?”

“Just promise me.”

Someone knocked on their door. Victoria grabbed and squeezed in Allison’s hand.

“Please,” she begged softly.

Allison bit on her lip. Sheena came out of the showers, confused to why no-one had answered the knocking on the door yet.

“I promise,” Allison said, with Sheena saying “Come in!” at the same time.

Victoria smiled and rose to her feet when the door smashed open and Dan entered, being held at a gunpoint by one of Father’s men.

Allison gasped, Renee immediately put herself between the other girls and Dan and the man, Sheena repressed a scream and Victoria closed her eyes. The endgame had begun.

“One wrong move and your captain will get a bullet in her back,” the masked man said. “Victoria! Come with me slowly, and I’ll let her go.”

Victoria opened her eyes. Dan seemed fine, even though her face was white and screaming ‘DON’T DO IT’. She smiled again.

“You don’t have to put my teammates at risk to get me to go with you.” Victoria passed Renee and stopped in front of Dan.

“Don’t you dare pull a Neil on us,” her captain said through clenched teeth.

Victoria pinched her cheek. “Cute you think I’m being the martyr here.” She turned to face the man, whose name she had forgotten. “Let her go. I’m coming.”

The man stared at her. Then he turned to the other girls in the room. “No-one move, or I’ll put a bullet in Victoria instead.”

Victoria laughed, hollow and hoarse. She remained silent for a while.

“Al?” She turned around for one last time, to give the man the opportunity to shove Dan towards the others and put his gun in her back.

Allison looked like she wanted to punch the man, but she did turn her icy gaze towards Victoria.

“Thank you.” Victoria used these words on purpose, knowing who had used them before and why, knowing Allison and the others would get it. “You were amazing.”

And with that, she left the room, with the man and his ‘threatening’ gun in her back.

\-----

Allison wanted to strangle someone. Victoria, the man holding her at a gunpoint, herself…

“Al?”

Victoria made her look to the other blonde, who was smiling. Allison wanted to punch that smile. How could Victoria smile at a time like this? Why didn’t she fight back? This didn't seem like the Victoria she knew at all.

“Thank you.” Victoria’s voice echoed in Allison’s mind, who tensed at the words she chose to say. “You were amazing.”

The last person that had said those words was Neil, right before he was kidnapped and taken to Baltimore to be tortured.

Victoria was saying goodbye to them, knowing full well how charged those words were.

Allison wanted to vomit when Victoria left the room, but instead she started counting, trying to keep her promise to the other blonde.

She reached six when the door closed behind the man and he started talking in a foreign language Allison didn’t recognize but sounded German or Russian, probably speaking to Victoria. Who didn’t say anything.

Allison kept counting, until she reached fifteen, sixteen, seventeen.

A gun cocked. Another sentence in that foreign language. Nineteen, twenty.

On twenty-two someone fired a gun. Someone else slumped on the floor.

Because the door was closed, Allison couldn’t see who had fired and who had died, but just like the others in the locker room, she guessed.

And she didn’t like the outcome of that guess.

After the shooting, Allison had stopped counting, while Renee had sunken onto the floor with tears in her eyes and hands in front of her mouth to silence the sobs.

Sheena was shaking, while Dan looked at the door, wide-eyed. Allison went over to Renee, to hug her tight. She started counting from thirty.

It was weird, but the first thing Allison thought of when she thought of Victoria, was of that time Victoria was playing with bubble-plastic when Aaron was hospitalized, telling them about Neil’s predicament with her family and how she wanted to protect him, but also knew the Foxes could end up as collateral damage.

It shifted to the night they found out she and Neil knew each other, to Victoria laughing when Neil chased her and tickled him to get her phone back.

Neil… Allison stopped counting again — she had almost reached fifty now — and leaped to her feet. They had to get to the boy’s locker room.

She started for the door, but Dan stopped her.

“They have guns!” she whispered harshly.

“Victoria told me to count to one hundred and go to the boy’s locker room. She must have wanted us to intercept them taking Neil.”

“Have you reached a hundred?” Sheena asked.

“I don’t give a fuck. It’s probably close enough now.”

“Then let’s go.” Dan bolted through the door, followed by Allison.

There was blood on the floor, making Dan and Allison skid a little. Allison stifled her cries, occupied with saving their male teammates.

“I’ll go get Wymack and Abby!” Renee shouted to them.

“Good plan!” Allison shouted back.

She and Dan ran through the hallway, to the boy’s locker room, hoping, praying they’d be on time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! THE FINALE HAS BEGUN!  
> I also noticed I miscounted the chapters that were left, oops.   
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed that and see you in two weeks!  
> Lots Of Love <3


	31. Chapter 31

When Andrew entered the room, they were all taken by surprise by the two men behind him. One held his rifle at his back, forcing him to move forward and making Andrew his hostage, the other aimed the rifle at the rest.

Andrew looked tense and even hopped, bleeding from what seemed to be a shot-wound in his left leg.

William tensed, but did not seem too surprised by this new development. Erik shielded Nicky, who was putting on his shirt. The two VIP’s had come down with their coach, after which Wymack had left the changing rooms and Erik followed Nicky into the showers.

Neil bit his lip and resisted fighting the men holding Andrew hostage. Andrew looked calm and collected, but his eyes were begging Neil to be a rabbit for once and run away. 

“Nathaniel.”

Neil flinched at hearing his old name, but didn’t step forward. He had to push himself not to though. He really didn’t want Andrew to get hurt though. And gunshot-wounds hurt like hell.

“Come with us, and your team will not be harmed.” The man poked his rifle in Andrew’s back, who started glaring daggers. His lips formed a stripe, breaking his indifferent mask.

Neil knew he had no choice, but Andrew wasn’t going to let him go without a fight, even when he was being the hostage.

He attacked, got one the man behind him in his ribs with his elbow, but was rewarded with a gunshot in his arm by the other, who had turned around as soon as he heard the other man grunt and just shot.

“Andrew!” Neil tried to run over before Andrew dropped on the floor, but a gun appeared in his face, making him freeze.

“Let your teammate go and come with us.”

Neil looked at Andrew, who was grunting from the pain on the floor. He put his hands in the air.

“I’m coming!” Neil yelled. “Hold your fire.”

“We make the rules Nathaniel.” The man poked his gun in Neil’s chest and gestured to the door. “Chop chop.”

Neil walked towards it, even though Andrew was threatening to kill him if he did. Well, too late now.

The man grabbed Neil by the neck and put his gun at Neil’s head. “No-one move. Gerald will watch you to make sure you won’t follow.”

Neil smiled one last time at his teammates, while Andrew was cursing and threatening him in clumsy, I-am-not-going-to-pass-out-no-matter-how-much-my-body-wants-to German and Matt shook his head desperately, silently begging Neil not to go. The door was slammed shut before Neil could look at his other teammates. 

The man pushed him forward, forcing him to the stairs that went up the roof. Neil had no choice but to follow. 

\-----

When Dan and Allison got to the boy’s locker room, they didn’t hear anything. They listened very carefully, hoping they’d catch some sound. Nothing couldn’t mean anything good.

Dan pushed Allison back and kicked in the door. It bumped into someone’s back, a someone who went down cursing.

Allison saw a flash of a gun, but before she could react, Dan had kicked the door again, knocking over whoever stood in front of it.

“Dan! He has a rifle!” Matt warned them, but because they had the benefit of the surprise, it didn’t take Allison and Dan long to knock the man out and grab the rifle.

Allison aimed the rifle at the man. “One move, and I shoot. And don’t think I will miss at such a small range.”

The man was unconscious, but Allison still held him at a gunpoint.

“Where’s Neil?” Dan asked.

Allison looked around. The boys were fine, apart from Andrew, who was bleeding from his leg and arm. Probably tried to charge the man and got shot. Or no, he had to be one of the hostages too, since Dan had just come back from being interviewed. And he tried to fight free, or something.

“They took him,” Kevin said.

He looked exhausted and relieved. Whatever tension they were holding before bled away with the knowledge they were saved by Dan and Allison, which meant they all relaxed a little. Nicky started to sob against Erik’s chest, who was sitting next to him with his arms over Nicky’s shoulders, whispering in German. Aaron got up and tried to bandage Andrew’s wounds, knowing they’ll infect if they weren’t treated right away, Matt hugged Dan tightly, Jack slumped on a bench, the other freshmen joined him and William looked at them desperately.

Oh no. Allison braced herself.

“Where’s Victoria?” He sounded hoarse.

Neither Allison nor Dan answered. Allison felt tears well up in her eyes, which was all William needed apparently.

“So it has begun.” He slumped back on the bench and started to shake, tears flowing in his eyes.

“What has begun?” Andrew snapped.

“The endgame.” William looked at the ceiling. “The finale she kept talking about.”

He remained silent for a while before continuing. “She always told me it would all come down to an endgame. There were several ways to come to it, but she already knew Neil would survive until then, whatever the circumstances or events. Her father would not allow him to die before that.”

That would have been helpful to know earlier.

“And?” Andrew growled.

The only reason he didn’t strangle the Dutch man right here and now was probably because he couldn’t move, because of his leg and arm and Aaron tending to them.

“The endgame could end in two ways: Nathaniel would die or Nathaniel would not. It all depended on when her father would react.”

“And about herself?” Allison asked.

William smiled sadly. “The chances of Victoria living to see the end were astronomical, if I have to go on what she told me before the game.”

So that was what they had been talking about. William must’ve been heartbroken, but instead he had played along and told them about the ‘endgame’ of her grand plan to kill her father and protect Neil. And now tears were rolling down his cheeks, because playing along had been done and now all that was left was a heartbroken soul.

“Did you see her body?” He then asked.

Dan and Allison shook their heads.

“We only heard a gunshot. When we came outside there was a lot of blood on the floor and dragging-marks, but we were occupied with getting here, hoping there was still time to safe Neil,” Dan said softly, which earned her a kiss on the head from Matt.

William nodded, overflowing with tears now. He still didn’t make any sound apart from sniffing from time to time.

“Are you guys okay?” Renee appeared in the door frame, with Wymack and Abby behind her, panting.

Abby ran towards Andrew, who told her to knock it off and help him get up to go after Neil.

“How about you girls? Feeling alright?” Wymack asked.

“No.” Allison clenched her fist. “Victoria was killed.”

“I know, Renee told us, but we have to find Neil and make sure he’s alright, before we can mope on our losses.” Wymack sounded strange, as if his throat were blocked. “That’s what Victoria wanted.”

None of the Foxes liked the idea. They all said nothing, silently trying to hold their tears.

Then they were taken by surprise by at least ten shots being fired from above them.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for violence and the mention of blood. If I have missed anything, please tell me!

It sure was windy up on top of the Court. After being forced through the halls without making a sound, Neil had been led up to the roof of the Court, where two other men joined them as his guards. 

Neil was pushed onto the gravel, scraped his knee and got kicked in his stomach. It made him cough violently, but Neil refused to make any noise of pain. He wouldn’t grunt, scream, yelp or whatever. He didn’t want to give them that satisfaction.

“Stay.” The man that had brought him here put his rifle on Neil’s temple.

Neil kind of didn’t have much of a choice. What else was he going to do being pushed down like that, still cringing a little from the pain in his stomach?

“Nathaniel Abram Wesninski,” a familiar voice said, purring.

Neil knew it was Victoria’s father: the big, old mister Mattner. That meant this was the endgame Victoria and her brother had worked towards. The finale. It was do or die now.

“Oh how I have dreamed of this day.” Footsteps came closer, until they reached Neil’s vision.

Mister Mattner had nice shoes, as far as Neil knew. Allison would probably know more, or Victoria, or maybe even Nicky. They were the experts. 

Neil hoped they were all alright.

“Tell me, how does it feel for you to lie on the ground, knowing you’ll die on the very rooftop of the place you have loved so dear.” Mister Mattner turned around. “I do hope the world won’t mourn your loss too long. I’d hate to get a headache seeing your face flash on every news station for more than a day.”

And he was still the same asshole Neil had known. The narcissist, egoistic asshole Victoria feared because of his insanity.

Speaking of, where was Victoria? Was she prepping for her last phase? She would come to help him, wouldn’t she? Neil couldn’t fight off nine men alone — mister Mattner had brought five guards along — and even doubted Victoria could, but she had made the plan, so she probably knew what to do.

For if it were up to Neil, he’d use his smart mouth in hopes to drag out the conversation long enough for help to arrive or for an opening to come and take to escape.

“No response?” Mister Mattner kicked Neil in the face, nearly hitting his eye. “That’s a shame. Tom, would you be so kind as to remove your rifle of dear Nathaniel’s face? He can’t exactly speak up if it forces him down.”

Tom did as he was told and Neil could breathe a little better, but before he could jump into action, mister Mattner had pressed a knife on his throat.

“Get up.”

Neil did as he was told, which meant he got to look at the man at least.

Mister Mattner hadn’t changed much. More wrinkles, but still the same, icy green eyes, the same brown hair and the same wicked smile. Neil felt the need to throw up. It’s a good thing Victoria looked like her mother, or she’d have to look into the mirror and think of this monster. Kind of like Neil had to. He was really happy Victoria looked like her kind and loving mother Penelope.

“You were a pain in the ass you know?” Mister Mattner whispered in Neil’s ear, crouching in front of the man. “You and your mother. I gave her what she wanted, after a year or so. But I did do it. And what do I get in return? Nothing!”

Neil felt the knife break his skin and form a thin line which prevented him from even swallowing.

“And I didn’t ask for much you know? Just for her to be my wife and plaything, and I’d protect you both. I didn’t even include you becoming a plaything in the offer, even though it had come through my mind.” Mister Mattner removed the knife from Neil’s throat to his abdomen, pushing against the shirt. “She refused and ran away again, with her price. A paper which allowed her to claim she was home-teaching you in order to duck from the authorities asking questions about your schooling. I gave her almost everything: a safe haven, that damn paper, money… She took the last two and refused the first. I resented her for it, but against my better judgment, just let someone follow her. I could have ordered them to kill you on the spot, but noooo, I had to be kind and merciful. But then, when she died…”

The knife tore through the shirt and entered his stomach slowly, but Neil refused to react to it. Mister Mattner saw that and grinned wickedly, a grin not like Victoria’s, whose wicked grin was playful and devilish, while mister Mattner’s was cold, hard and crazy.

“Then I realized she had done something else too,” he continued his monologue. “She had poisoned my wife, making her think she could be free again. Penelope had been seeing this FBI-agent from America, you know? Agent… Lovehouse or something.”

“Longhouse, Father.” Victoria stepped on the roof.

Neil almost felt relieved, but then he realized there were seven man with her. Seven of her father’s men. And they hadn’t captured her.

“Victoria! My greatest daughter.” Mister Mattner let Neil go, removing the knife from his abdomen and walked over to his daughter. “You did great sweetie.”

“Thanks Father.” Victoria looked at Neil, who was held at a gunpoint by Tom again.

“I was just telling him about how his mother had inspired yours to try to flee with you and your brother, to that FBI-agent you just mentioned. The one she dated around the time you were born”

Victoria didn’t react. She just stared at Neil, grinning wickedly.

She had blood almost everywhere. It was mostly on her left, but her hair, shirt, pants and shoes were almost drowning in it. As if she had carved up someone herself. Or was bleeding heavily from various wounds.

“You know Nathaniel? Victoria made sure you came to be here.” Mister Mattner turned around grinning. “She devised the plan to torture you mentally until I could catch you after the Exy-finals. To make you fear for your life every step of the way to here, to give you false hope of escape because she was ‘protecting’ you.”

Wait, what? Neil looked at Victoria, who wore her devious smile. There was no kindness or denial in her cold, cold eyes.

No… Did that mean…

“This whole year was a lie, Nathaniel.” Mister Mattner laughed. “How does it feel?”

Neil couldn’t say anything. His throat felt like he had just swallowed sand, his lips and tongue were as dry as the Sahara desert. The only liquid he felt was the blood dripping down from his stomach onto the rooftop.

It burned. It felt worse then any torture he had ever been through. Neil had trusted Victoria, loved her like a little sister he never had, and then she did… this?

“That’s how you made Father feel,” Victoria stepped forward. “How you made US feel. I felt betrayed when you left Nat.”

Neil wanted to scream, yell it was unfair, but all he felt was the invisible knife twisting in his back.

Andrew had been right. In the end, Victoria would only serve her own means.

And unfortunately for Neil, revenge and murder were on her agenda, meaning he was officially dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! (and sorry for not uploading last week, I kinda forgot)  
> DUNDUNDUUUUUNNNN, what will happen now?  
> I hope you liked this chapter and the previous one as well. See you in a week (because this was actually the week my Deltora-fic would upload, which is what I'm going to do next)!!!!  
> Lots Of Love <3


	33. Chapter 33

Victoria stepped outside and faced the nameless man who had held Dan at a gunpoint. Behind him, Hubert took his place, nodding to her.

“Hold still, it’ll be over in a minute,” the man said in Russian, aiming for Victoria’s heart.

She didn’t answer; she just stared at the floor.

He cocked his gun. “Goodbye miss Mattner.”

Victoria looked up and jumped aside. At the same time, Hubert fired and shot the man dead, making Victoria all dirty with blood. She knew she should be grateful he didn’t hit her, but she was wearing her favorite shirt. Maybe she should have thought about that before putting it on.

Hubert walked over and dragged the man with him, giving Victoria an unloaded revolver, like Father had wanted. She nodded, knowing Hubert’s job was done now.

He’d bury the man somewhere, making sure the feds wouldn’t find him. After that, he’d go to his wife and children, tell them he’s rich and free and flee to Russia. Victoria didn’t care about that, but she did like the fact that she had been able to free another person who didn’t want to be where he was from the cruel mafia-world.

Victoria followed him to the doors, but turned left where he turned right to the exit. Hubert might be done, but Victoria had a more difficult part coming up.

She sent her brother a text. ‘Check.’

\-----

Longhouse was still eyeing his phone when it rang, hoping to get a response from Victoria.

He hadn’t made the game, since he had been put to work at the last minute and was sorting case-files like an errand boy.

So when his phone rang, he immediately picked up, without looking who the caller was. “Hello?”

“Hi Longhouse.” It was Alphonse, Victoria’s brother who had been presumed dead because no-one, literally no-one had heard from or seen him all year, as far as the FBI knew.

“Alphonse?”

Penelope had liked him, because he was smart. She always told Longhouse how sad she was his brains were put to the wrong use, and how she didn’t like him being treated and trained as an heir to an empire he might not even want, or should grow up in in the first place. Longhouse agreed, but there was nothing they could do without proof and Penelope refused to cooperate, like Victoria did now.

Victoria and her mother were so much alike.

“Yes. I rose from the dead to bring you a small message.” Longhouse could almost hear the grin in Alphonse’s voice, if it weren’t for the fact that he hadn’t seen the boy have even one emotion every time they met.

“Oh-okay.”

“Victoria might need your help. She’ll die on top of the Foxhole Court soon if you’re not in time.” And just like that, Alphonse hung up.

Longhouse cursed and tried to call back, but the number didn’t exist anymore.

Victoria needed his help. She was going to die on top of the Foxhole Court. Die...

All of a sudden, Longhouse couldn’t think straight anymore. Victoria was going to die, and he really, really didn’t want that to happen yet. If she were to die, she’d never know the truth.

So without further ado, he ran towards the office and told the entire team the whole story, after which they set up a team to go towards the Foxhole Court.

Longhouse insisted on coming along, even though he wasn’t in the right headspace.

He wasn’t going to sit by and watch others save Victoria. No sir he was not.

Besides, him coming along meant the entire team could see the text Alphonse sent him with another unknown, non-existing number: ‘Good luck Longhouse. Especially with the aftermath.’

\-----

Neil wished he could have said goodbye to Andrew while Victoria walked over to her father and hugged him. He wondered how, when and most importantly, why? Was this what she had meant by wanting to be free? To be freed from this feeling for revenge? Freed from having Neil roam the same earth she did?

But she had sounded so… genuine when she had talked about her dreams and hopes with them, when she told them Neil was an example. Was she that good of an actress?

Tom grabbed Neil’s arms, but he was limp from shock anyways. He really didn’t understand how Victoria could have done this.

Victoria smiled at him. “Aaaaaww, did you really think we were like before? Please, that was all acting, and you knew it. I needed you to trust me, you and your guard dog.” She looked at him with a tilted head. “How is Andrew anyways? Bleeding out on the ground? Or do you think someone was allowed to get him up and treat his wounds?”

Neil tried to attack her — making mister Mattner laugh — but she blocked his legs and his arms were restrained by Tom from behind, who eventually lifted him up and walked back a little to get Victoria out of reach.

“Leave him alone!” Neil bellowed. “Don’t you dare touch him!”

Victoria looked at him as if he were upsetting her. “Aaaww, did I make you mad? Well, you’ll get even more mad when you hear what I told the girls before I left.” She leaned in, but because she was out of reach she couldn’t whisper. “‘Thank you. You were amazing’.”

Neil felt his stomach drop. That… He said that before he was taken to Baltimore, as a goodbye to Andrew. And Victoria used it… to do what? Say goodbye?

Something clicked in Neil’s brain. To say goodbye. He had said it to tell Andrew goodbye, knowing he’d pick up on it somehow. Eventually.

Victoria rose again and turned to face her father, but this time she had a gun in her hand and pointed it at him.

“Check,” she told him. “Nice playing with you Father.”

But mister Mattner only laughed. Victoria didn’t put the gun down, but her arms did start to tremble.

“Oh Victoria…” Mister Mattner straightened again and gazed at her with a look that could freeze hell. “My greatest disappointment.”

Victoria shot her father, but no bullet came out of the revolver. Mister Mattner started laughing again.

Neil was shocked, worried Victoria’s whole plan had crashed down and failed. Victoria also looked surprised, looking into the loop and frowning.

“Did you really think I’d give you a working gun when I knew you were the mole ruining this entire ordeal?” Mister Mattner snorted. “Don’t make me laugh another time! Victoria, you were protecting him, killing off my men one by one to make sure they wouldn’t tell, but I knew. You weren’t supposed to protect Nathaniel dear, only to get close and make him let his guard down.”

Victoria stepped back, but twelve rifles were pointed at her. She was trapped.

Fortunately, Victoria somehow kept her head cool and just sighed and smiled sadly to Neil. But Neil knew better. He saw the tremble of her lips when she smiled.

“Such a disappointment. You were so smart. So clever. So… precious.” Mister Mattner scowled. “And unfortunately, so much like your mother.”

Victoria didn’t react, but she did step a little closer to Neil.

Strangely enough, Tom let Neil go and went to stand in front of her, surprising not only Neil, but Victoria as well.

“Mister Matt-”

He couldn’t finish. Twelve rifles fired and pierced him with bullets. He was dead before he had even hit the ground, glassy eyes looking at the blue skies.

Victoria shielded Neil, who clenched his stomach wound. They stepped back a little more, while mister Mattner made eye-contact with Victoria.

“Sweetie, stop this nonsense and just admit you’ve lost. It was a nice game, I finally get the chance to get rid of you and then I’ll be able to get rid of Neil and just continue my life, continue my day, you know.”

Victoria said nothing. They stepped back again, Neil’s heels hitting the bricks marking the end of the roof. Trapped. Trapped, trapped, trapped, trapped…

Victoria took a deep breath, still holding up the revolver, trembling. “When I say jump, you jump.”

“What?”

“JUMP!” Victoria turned around and pushed Neil, who stumbled over the edge.

Neil fell down, but before he did, he saw Victoria smile fondly and her father’s men running towards her.

Then all he did was fall down and brace himself for the inevitable fate of him splashing on the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just a few more before this is wrapped up all nicely.  
> I'm not sorry for the cliffhanger. See you in two weeks!  
> (Love y'all <3)


	34. Chapter 34

Neil fell and fell and hit something soft. No splash. Just… something catching him.

Confused, he looked beneath him. There was a safety net spun underneath him, and men in suits he recognized being FBI-agents were running towards him.

“Are you alright?” a familiar voice asked, concerned.

Neil turned to see Longhouse, with a pale face and concerned, gray eyes. FBI. Longhouse. He was safe.

How they got here was none of his concern. All that he cared about was being safe and not dead.

Neil let out a breath and closed his eyes, pointing vaguely to his abdomen to indicate he had been stabbed. Was stabbed the right word? Pushed in, then.

“I got you,” Longhouse told Neil when he and a few other agents let him out of the safety net. “Though I have to say you were lucky this safety-net was hanging here. We wouldn’t have been in time to safe you somehow.”

Neil chuckled. “Lucky.”

“Yes. We saw someone falling off and… wait.” Longhouse looked at Neil’s throat. “You’re hurt.”

No shit. Neil giggled this time, still in shock from the fall and making it out alive.

“Sir!” One of the agents came running towards Longhouse. “The Foxes called. They have a man in the boy’s locker room who had shot one of their teammates twice and kidnapped another.”

Longhouse looked at Neil and then turned his gaze towards the roof.

Neil realized he had yet to tell them Victoria was in danger. His daze was gone and pure fear ran through his body. “Victoria! Victoria is up there! With her father!”

“I want a team to the roof!” Longhouse ordered. “The other one goes inside! You’re gonna protect the civilians in this court! I’m with the team going to the roof! And take Neil with you team two!”

“Yes sir!” both teams said, ignoring the slight panic in Longhouse’s voice. 

They did as they were told to, moving inside the court. Neil wanted to go along, but one of the other agents made sure he stayed still. His injuries might not be severe, but he better waited for the medical help that would arrive soon.

They found the Foxes getting out with the man from before — Gerard? — tied up with some rope and Allison keeping him in check with a rifle.

Neil felt relieve wash over when he saw them. He heard the relieve in their voices too when they saw him being safe and sound with the FBI, shouting his name and running towards them.

Neil got up and ignored the agent trying to put a cloth to his stomach to stop the bleeding. He was fine. Besides, he really wanted to hug the others too, so when they came close he opened his arms and waited for people to give him just that.

Andrew was still bleeding, but Abby had put some band-aid on the wounds to make sure they would not get infected before they got to a hospital for him. He ordered Aaron — who held his brother up and helped him move — to move towards Neil, who was currently being crushed by Matt and Dan and Nicky in a fierce group hug.

The FBI allowed them to have their moment and went inside, safe from some agents staying to protect the Foxes.

Neil felt their hug making his stomach-wound burn. It might need some medical attention after all. Maybe. Probably.

“Stomach,” he warned his teammates through clenched teeth.

They all let go and observed the damage.

“Oh my God,” Dan said, while Matt looked at his own shirt, now stained with Neil’s blood.

“Nooooo,” Nicky whined.

Erik pulled him close, while Matt made sure Neil sat down again, accepting the cloth from the agent from before and putting it against Neil’s stomach.

Andrew got to Neil and gave him a once-over before asking: “Yes or no?”

“Yes,” Neil said.

Andrew let Aaron go and hobbled over to Neil, after which he slowly sat down next to Neil and checked Neil’s injuries. Neck, stomach and face. Those were all Neil had.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Neil told him.

“Let Abby look at them as soon as possible.”

“Okay.”

“Is this everyone?” one of the FBI-agents asked.

“Yes,” Wymack told them. “The fans were already outside.”

“Good. Let’s move out. There is a dangerous mafia-boss around.”

When they got to the parking lot the FBI surrounded them, giving Abby a chance to temporarily patch Neil up. When she was done, she hugged him, and he hugged her back.

“Victoria saved me,” he said softly. “She’s the only reason I’m alright.”

“Victoria is alive?” William asked, wide-eyed and hopeful.

Neil bit his lip. “When I last saw her… Yes. She pushed me off the roof, but didn’t follow, so I think she was caught by her father’s men before she could.”

William’s shoulder slumped again and his eyes started to water again. Neil felt sorry for him, but also knew he couldn’t hide the truth.

A gunshot echoed through the air. The FBI made the Foxes move back inside, while the ambulances arrived to give them — and especially Andrew, who was almost passing out from his bullet wounds — medical attention.

Neil could only hope it was Longhouse shooting mister Mattner, and not someone shooting Victoria.

\-----

Victoria was caught before she could follow Neil, but she knew she couldn’t escape that way. It would only make sure they would follow too. She had to distract them.

She shot one of the men trying to grab her, showing the revolver had bullets in it. She had put them there and left one open, so it’d be like a reversed Russian roulette.

The other men tried to grab her, but when she shot two more they backed off. Victoria pointed her gun at Father.

He merely shook his head. “You disappoint me child. You’re outnumbered. I thought you’d be better prepared than this.”

“I thought I told you it was ‘check’, Father,” Victoria returned, regretting that decision already.

Father came to her and struck her in the face, making sure his ring left a cut on her cheek.

Victoria fell silent after that and dropped her revolver. This was it. Neil was saved. Now there was just one thing that needed to happen.

Father struck her again and forced her to fall onto the ground, kicking her in the stomach a few times.

“I always knew out of you and your brother, you would be the first to betray me.” Father kicked her in the stomach again. “I had your brother under my control, but because you were raised by your mother, you didn’t have the same discipline as he did. He wouldn’t hesitate to follow my orders. You always asked questions. But…” Father smiled as he kicked her in the stomach once more. “You were afraid of me, while your brother saw me as some kind of god. I liked him because of it, and resented you for being afraid.”

Victoria was afraid, but somehow also felt at peace. Neil was safe. Her mission was over. Was this what it felt like for assassins or other merchants? When they had finished a contract? Or was this just the pre-death-peace you feel before slipping away and going who-knows-where.

Father grabbed his knife, pulled Victoria up by her hair and put the knife against her neck. Victoria was too afraid and weak to struggle, so she just waited for him to slit her throat or continue his torture.

Blood tickled down to the rooftop, coming from the thin cut Father made in her throat. Victoria didn’t dare to even swallow or speak.

“You’re not supposed to be afraid of your own father, are you Victoria?”

No, but she was. She very much was. And even though she was, she didn’t make a sound when the knife was removed from her throat and put against her cheek. It was cold, but didn’t make a cut.

“No. You should love your father, admire him. Fear is something that would make me a bad father.”

The knife slid down and rested against her beating heart, not tearing through the shirt. Father really wanted her to feel fearful, to dread the knife entering her body again.

“Was I a bad father Victoria? Is that why you rebelled against me?”

Victoria opened her eyes and looked Father in the eye. “I rebelled because I want to be free and the only way to do so is by rebelling against my oppressor, Father.”

Father nodded. “True, but I got you now, meaning it was all for nothing.”

He got up and gestured for a gun, probably bored out of his mind by torturing Victoria. Before she could open her mouth, he kicked her in the stomach again and put the gun to her head.

“It will not be for nothing, Father.” Victoria smiled sweetly, ignoring the cold metal against her temple that made her feel like shivering in fear. “One way or another, I will be free.”

That made him confused. “Hm.”

“Checkmate, Father,” she said softly.

“Well, if you put it that wa-” He couldn’t even finish his sentence.

The door was barged in. A familiar voice screamed “NO!” and immediately shot. Father had no way to dodge the bullet in any way.

Father gasped for air, blood trickling out of his mouth onto his chin.

Victoria’s eyes were wide. How-

“DROP YOUR GUNS!” Longhouse shouted. “YOU’RE UNDER ARREST!”

Father collapsed onto the gravel. His eyes were open, but they didn’t see anything. Victoria couldn’t believe her eyes.

Father’s men didn’t seem to believe it either, but they did come to realize they had the upper hand with Victoria in their grasp. 

Victoria however did not agree to become a hostage again. She had hope to escape and clung onto that hope like her life depended on it, which it did.

So the first thing she did was get up, grab the revolver and shoot, after which she ran on adrenaline and stumbled down into the gravel, scraping her cheek, when her abdomen started to protest. 

Father had kicked her really hard. Maybe she had internal bleeding. Maybe her organs weren’t feeling well. It would definitely bruise though, so whatever was wrong with it, she would still need to take it easy for some time.

Before one of Father’s men could get to her, Longhouse ran over and stood between them and her. “I SAID DROP YOUR WEAPONS!” 

They did what they were told.

While Longhouse watched his colleagues tying them up, his eyes glanced at Victoria from time to time, while she was lying on the ground. When he felt like they had it under control, he ran over and cradled her in his arms.

It was weird being hugged like that, but Victoria didn’t mind. She had made it out alive. Barely. 

“You were lucky we got an anonymous call to go and check the Foxhole Court. Otherwise you would have died,” Longhouse said softly, and for some reason started shuddering.

Victoria knew that. She hadn’t counted on the FBI coming over and messing around. She had planned for Neil to fall down, be found by security or maybe one of the Foxes and her dying on top of the roof. Her brother would have taken over Father’s empire by then and ‘publicly’ executed Father. That had been their plan.

But someone had made some changes and didn’t inform Victoria about those. And that someone was probably the one calling her now, as her phone had started ringing.

Victoria was released from Longhouse’s grasp and picked up.

“Hi Vicky,” Alphonse sounded like he was smiling. “How did you like my little surprise?”

“You called them,” she said.

“I called them, but don’t worry. The rest has fallen in place now. I have control and Ichirou is on his way right now to celebrate and sign some papers to finalize our partnership.”

Victoria didn’t say anything. She felt a little sick.

“Vicky.”

“Hm?”

“You did it.”

She huffed. “We did it you mean.”

“I will not comment any further, in case Longhouse is listening along.”

Victoria glanced at the man, who was currently sitting next to her on the gravel. He tried to give them privacy, but obviously failed.

“Hm.”

“I have some good news for you by the way.”

Victoria frowned. “What is it?”

“I might steal Longhouse’s thunder now, but he’s your real father.”

Victoria’s heart stopped. “What?”

Longhouse startled from her harsh and sharp tone, but Victoria ignored him.

“Mother had an affair with Longhouse, but you knew that already, out of which you were born. Mother knew, Father didn’t. Mother tried to conceal it, by breaking every bond with Longhouse and insisting she had to be the one to raise you, but Father found out when the Wesninski’s were at our place.” Alphonse sighed softly. “He blamed Mary for making his wife unfaithful, since Mary was unfaithful too. After that, he slowly poisoned her, to stage her being sick and dying for the outside world, but when that took too long, he straight up killed her and blamed it on one of his rivals. You know that story. But Mother knew of his plans, and she was planning to run too, with both of us.”

“Father told me,” Victoria said. “Told Nathaniel.”

“Ah. Well, that didn’t work out.” Alphonse clacked his tongue, which was an irritating tick he had when he was feeling smug about something he had discovered. “Before she died, she told Longhouse you were his. I found out by breaking into his office one day, when I tried to figure out why he was so fond of you. It helped us greatly, didn’t it?”

Victoria huffed. “You could have said something earlier!”

“I was actually watching Longhouse gather the strength to tell you himself, but since he couldn’t do that in time, I just used his protective nature against him and kind of straight up told him you were going to die in Foxhole Court after the game. He must have rushed over.”

Victoria glared at Longhouse again, who was talking to one of his colleagues now. They were discussing who had to write the report and how long they were willing to wait for the backup to arrive to transport the criminals they had caught.

“Longhouse is coming with me to the hospital!” Victoria chimed in, angrily. “He has something to explain to me!”

Longhouse yelped, but complied and looked at Victoria in confusion.

“I have to take care of my own business here,” Alphonse said. “Love you. Good luck with your new family.”

Before Victoria could answer, he had hung up. The beeping tone echoed through her mind while she put her phone away.

“Are you okay?” Longhouse asked.

Victoria formulated an answer, but just decided to throw it out. “You’re my biological father.”

Longhouse remained silent for a while. “Yes, about that…”

“We’ll do some DNA-tests at the hospital.” Victoria gave him a once-over and stopped at his nose. She booped it. “I think I have your nose.”

It was a relief Father wasn’t her biological father, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about Longhouse having that title. If it were true that is.

Longhouse smiled at her though, happy and glad. He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Victoria swat his hand away, glaring a little.

“Maybe you do. You do have your mother’s attitude though.” Longhouse's smile widened.

Victoria grinned back, wickedly. “Maybe I do.”

Longhouse snickered. “Shall we go to the hospital then? Neil and the other Foxes are there too.”

“Yeah, I might need some medical attention. Father, the person who had tried to raise me, has kicked me a lot in my stomach, making me feel sick and as you can see unable to walk properly.”

“Let’s go then. You good up here?”

Longhouse received a “Yes sir”, a “Have fun bonding with your newfound daughter!” and also a “We’ll be fine”, so he got up, helped Victoria to her feet and together, they went to the door.

Victoria was happy she was alive, relieved to find out Father wasn’t her biological father, weirded out a little to find out Longhouse was but most of all glad she survived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hands; who had guessed Longhouse was Victoria's real dad all along?  
> Anyways, I really hope you liked _one of the last chapters of this fic_.  
> I mean, we're not there yet (we still have two chapters to go; the Foxes need to lick their wounds at the hospital and a reunion is on it's way), but it's almost finished! And it has been one hell of a ride (or at least, for me).  
> So, see you in two weeks!   
> Lots of Love <3


	35. Chapter 35

Andrew was silent the whole time Neil got checked by a nurse. He had insisted on being there, not wanting to let Neil out of his sight again. Andrew was tied to his own bed though, thanks to some bullets, so they were forced to nurse Neil in Andrew’s room.

Neil had told the FBI-agent coming along everything that had happened on the roof, while they were in the ambulance with Andrew. She promised him she’d tell Longhouse when he’d return.

When the nurse had patched him up, she left and one by one the Foxes dropped by to stay with Andrew and Neil in the room.

William was hiccuping from his emotional session after hearing Victoria might be dead after all, since Neil told the Foxes everything too when they were all present. Erik and Nicky had tried to calm him down, but they couldn’t get rid of the hiccups.

“Never again.” Dan looked at William, before shifting her gaze to Neil. “We’re not doing something crazy like this again.”

Nobody argued. They all silently agreed.

Allison hugged her knees closer and leaned against Renee, who was rubbing her back.

Neil felt sorry for her. She and Victoria had grown quite close. Neil was sad too of course, but he had seen so many deaths he just… he couldn’t mourn anymore. And he hated himself for that.

Andrew pinched him in his good side. Neil scoffed, but Andrew wasn’t impressed.

“How are you?” Longhouse entered the room.

Everyone gazed at him. He had returned, but no Victoria. And he looked like he had gone through an emotional wringer.

“Did you get there in time?” Andrew asked him in return.

Longhouse sighed. “Yes and no.”

Behind him, another figure appeared. The Foxes all gasped when Victoria went past the FBI-agent.

She looked tired, but she had also washed up and changed clothes. There was some bandage around her neck, a bruise and cut on her left cheek and she limped a little, but apart from that, she looked fine. Exhausted, but alive. And somehow a little smug.

William leaped to his feet and almost crushed her in a hug. He started sobbing again, holding her so tight she almost disappeared in his arms.

She tapped him on his arm, silently requesting him to let her go.

When he did she said: “Stomach. Not bad, just bruised.”

“I love you.”

Victoria smiled. “I love you too.”

They hugged again. Then Victoria hugged Allison, Nicky and the other Foxes, before turning to Neil and Andrew and hugging them too, though she did ask Andrew permission. And all this time, William made sure he held something tightly. A finger, the hem of her shirt, her hair… It was ridiculously adorable, but Neil understood why William did this. 

Neil smiled at her. “You did it. You killed your father.”

“No I didn’t.” Victoria grinned back, as if she was laughing at his shocked face - which she was, probably. “That would be a shame. We just figured out.”

Everyone was confused. Longhouse cleared it up, since Victoria would probably watch them struggle until Andrew would threaten her to tell them.

“Victoria and I just got the results from a DNA-test, which is why we couldn’t come sooner.” He smiled. “I’m her real father. Penelope had cheated on her husband with me. Victoria was born, Penelope knew she wasn’t her husband’s, broke off with me to protect her and then, when you and your mother came along, Alfred Mattner found out and Penelope tried to run, but that didn’t work out. A few days before she died she told me, but I was still skeptical. Victoria found out on the roof, through a phone-call from her brother. We took a test to be sure, but it came out positive, so I guess I’m her legal guardian now, after the papers are signed.”

Wymack patted him on the shoulder. “I know how it feels like.”

Kevin bit his lip and looked at the ground, but Wymack was smiling. Neil was beaming.

“But Victoria! That means you can stay here!”

“I know!” Victoria smiled at William. “Longhouse has also agreed to take you in if you want, but that’s up to you. I will stay here though, to play with my team and form a brand new start, far away from you-know-where.”

William smiled back. “I’ll think about it.” He hugged her again, kissed her temple and buried his nose in her hair. “For now I want to celebrate you being alive.”

Victoria chuckled.

Neil held out his hand to Andrew, who took it without looking. Somehow it had ended happily. Somehow they had all made it out alive and mister Mattner was dead.

Andrew squeezed his hand. Neil squeezed back.

“We’ll celebrate properly when Andrew gets out of the hospital,” Allison announced. “But for now I just want to hug everyone.”

They all ended up in a pile on Andrew’s bed, who refused to contribute to the group hug so they brought the group hug to him.

Victoria was laughing the whole time, a genuine, wholehearted laugh that echoed through the halls of the hospital.

When the Foxes were kicked out of the room because Andrew needed his rest, only Neil stayed behind. In Andrew's bed of course, because Andrew refused to let Neil go to his own room to heal up.

He laid beside Andrew and watched over him when the blond fell asleep, feeling safe against Neil. Neil put his head on Andrew’s and closed his eyes too, listening to Andrew breathing.

He was safe. They both were. And they were together again, huddled together on the tiny hospital bed.

It didn’t take Neil long to fall asleep too.


	36. Epilogue

Victoria had received one last text from Alphonse, when they walked out of City Hall, after signing the papers that made Longhouse her legal father now.

‘I hope you will be happy again sis.’

She stood beside Longhouse — she didn’t feel comfortable enough to call him ‘dad’ yet — and smiled at her phone, feeling quite giddy since she was officially going to live with Longhouse now. They’d celebrate by shopping furniture to fit in her new room, after which they’d see William and Erik off — who were going home again, though William did promise to contact her as soon as he had done everything to move to America to live with her and Longhouse — and eat pizza with Nicky, Andrew and Neil, who were coming along to see the other two off.

“You coming?” Longhouse asked when she stopped in the middle of the street.

“Just a sec.” Victoria typed one last message back.

‘I hope you will be happy too brother. And it’s Victoria Longhouse now. Victoria Mattner is no more.’

He responded almost immediately.

‘Good. Farewell, Victoria Audrey Longhouse.’

Victoria smiled.

‘Goodbye Alphonse Leopold Mattner.’

She ran towards Longhouse and grabbed his arm, making sure he didn’t see her throw away the burner phone. 

Victoria Audrey Longhouse. It had a nice ring to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THAT'S IT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! I DID IT! WE MADE IT! IT'S THE END!  
> I want to thank you all for reading this fic, leaving comments and kudo's and being patient with me. I really enjoyed this, and am happy to see it come to a closure.  
> Maybe one day I will look back to this fic and rewrite it, or something like that. Maybe I will just leave it be as it is and continue with my Deltora fic (and others that I have planned, branching out into other fandoms as well).  
> But for now, I want to thank you all again for reading and supporting this fic. It means a lot <3
> 
> Lots Of Love<3
> 
> PS: if you're interested to see what other things I have written, check out my other works on my profile! For now it's just things for All for the Game, but I might add other fandoms in the future (as I have stated previously).  
> PPS: THANKS AGAIN FOR READING! I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!! <3<3<3


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